Bank of China says it will cooperate with Italians in probe

The Bank of China said it would cooperate with Italian prosecutors seeking to indict the bank and hundreds of Chinese migrants following a massive money-laundering probe reported by The Associated Press earlier this month.
In a statement Tuesday, the bank said it has not received any formal prosecution documents from Italian authorities. But company secretary Yeung Cheung Ying said the bank will “provide timely disclosure in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations.”
Italian officials are seeking to charge 297 people, including four senior managers of the bank’s Milan branch, as well as the branch itself.
Prosecutors said more than 4.5 billion euros (USD5.1 billion) in proceeds from counterfeiting and other illicit activities was sent to China using a money-transfer service part-owned by Chinese migrants. Nearly half that money went through the Bank of China’s Milan branch, which had an exclusive contract with the money transfer network, prosecutors said.
Ratings agency Standard and Poor’s said an indictment would be unlikely to impact the bank’s credit rating, given its sizeable asset base of 16 trillion yuan ($2.6 trillion) and the “very high likelihood of extraordinary support from the Chinese government.”
Bank of China shares were up 0.7 percent, to HKD5.44 in morning trade in Hong Kong yesterday. Erika Kinetz, Shanghai, AP

Alibaba investing in ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’

The film arm of e-commerce giant ALibaba Group said yesterday it will invest in the next “Mission: Impossible” movie in its first Hollywood venture, adding to a flood of Chinese money into the global film business.
Alibaba Pictures Group Ltd. announced the agreement with Paramount Pictures Corp. They gave no details of how much Alibaba would invest in “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation” but said they will collaborate in online ticketing, promotion in China and merchandising.
“Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation is our first step toward internationalization and Alibaba Pictures looks forward to collaborating with more international movie studios,” said Zhang Qiang, CEO of Alibaba Pictures, in a statement.
The film, starring Tom Cruise, premieres July 31 in the United States.
Chinese companies have sealed a series of deals with Hollywood and other foreign production partners in an effort to capture more of the profits from China’s fast-growing market.
Alibaba Pictures said it has established a presence in Los Angeles to pursue other possible investments and collaboration. Until now, the company has focused on film and TV production and distribution in mainland China.
Alibaba started in e-commerce by launching one of China’s first websites in 1999 and has expanded into entertainment, online finance and other areas.
In June, Chinese conglomerate Fosun International Ltd. announced that it would invest in Studio 8, a Hollywood production company. Also in June, Relativity Media and Jiangsu Broadcasting Corp. announced an agreement to produce film and television content for Chinese and foreign markets. A Beijing firm, DMG, was a co-producer of “Iron Man 3.” AP