Latest news with #NongfuSpring
Newsweek
a day ago
- Business
- Newsweek
China Buys Up Property in America's Hottest Housing Market
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The New Hampshire city at the center of a recent controversy surrounding a Chinese company's local real estate purchase, Nashua, has been named the hottest housing market in the country. The metropolitan area of Manchester-Nashua, which includes the two New Hampshire cities, offers the best combination of good quality of life and projected home appreciation in the nation, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal and Why These Markets Are So Hot Manchester and Nashua are comfortably close to Boston, offering residents an easy commute to the big city if needed and much lower home prices compared to their big urban neighbor. But that is only one of the reasons these cities are so sought after by homebuyers, to the point that they are willing to face fierce competition on the market. Manchester and Nashua have a very stable economic profile, which means that an expensive home would still be a good investment even a few years down the line. They have excellent schools, jobs are plentiful in many sectors, and there are a lot of outdoor activities for summer and winter. These factors are enough to make sure that buyers are not completely thrown off by ever-rising home prices. Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Canva In June, the latest data available on the median listing home price in Nasha was $525,000, up 8.3 percent from a year earlier. In Manchester, it was $428,400, up 7.1 percent year-over-year. While the rest of the country is slowly shifting in favor of buyers, with Florida and Texas already solidly into this territory, Manchester and Nashua remain strong sellers' markets. In Nashua, homes sold for 1.52 percent above asking price, on average, last month. In Manchester, they sold for 2.27 percent above asking price. Why You Might Have Heard of Nashua While Nashua is the second-largest city in northern New England, it is not often that it makes headlines in national media. Yet the city has recently been under the spotlight for a deal involving a billionaire Chinese businessman and his company, which quietly bought a commercial building in Nashua near the Pennichuck Water Works system. Nongfu Spring, China's largest beverage company, bought a 23-acre parcel in Nashua for $67 million, next to the New Hampshire watershed area that supplies drinking water to the city. Pennichuck said that it will supply water to the Chinese development as well. The main street bridge over the Nashua River in Nashua, New Hampshire. Inset: Zhong Shanshan, chairman of Nongfu Spring mineral water, in May 2013. The main street bridge over the Nashua River in Nashua, New Hampshire. Inset: Zhong Shanshan, chairman of Nongfu Spring mineral water, in May 2013. Getty Images The sale has raised questions over national security and the future of Nashua's water resources, as the Chinese company sets up operations in the city. According to LinkedIn posts, Nongfu Springs has been hiring for positions in Nashua in the past few months. The company, set up in the 1990s in China, has helped make owner Zhong Shanshan the richest man in the country, with a net worth of about $65 billion. While Zhong has recently come under fire in China for not being loyal enough to his country after criticizing Beijing for failing to control pricing on online platforms, New Hampshire lawmakers worry that his new Nashua plant stands too close to sensitive military locations in the state. "We always need to be extra careful about all potential sales of critical infrastructure such as our water supply. There has been a lot of concern throughout the Nashua community that this sale is being rushed through without proper scrutiny being paid to the buyer," Republican state Senator Kevin Avard, a vocal critic of the deal, told Newsweek. "I fully understand that sentiment and have been vocal about slowing down the process to make sure that we aren't putting the safety of our community needlessly in jeopardy. These concerns were so strong and so loud that Nongfu was forced to modify its original plan to purchase the water rights and focus solely on the water bottling plant," he said. For Avard, "it is an undisputed fact that there are agents of the Chinese Communist government attempting to commit acts of espionage throughout our nation." "We even had spokesmen for the military testify in front of the Senate this year about the potential threats to the Space Force base just down the road in New Boston. This is something we need to take seriously, and when a large multinational company Nongfu attempts to make such a major purchase in our state, we need to make sure that we have all of the facts," he added. This year, the New Hampshire legislature passed a provision in HB 2—then signed by Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte—that prohibits agents of hostile foreign nations such as Iran, China and Syria from purchasing land in New Hampshire. "Unfortunately, this bill was not in effect in time for this sale. I do believe that much can, and should, be done in the upcoming year to bring more transparency to the influence that hostile nations, like China, have in our state," Avard said. In a statement issued on Friday, Nashua Mayor James Donchess said that the city was "neither involved in nor informed of the sales and acquisitions of any private properties in the city, and it has no input on the purchase prices of any private properties. "The City of Nashua only became aware of this potential project when Nongfu Spring submitted a construction permit application, which they withdrew at the end of May."
CNA
a day ago
- Business
- CNA
Troubled waters: Chinese tycoon's US beverage plant bid sparks national security alarm
China's richest man, Zhong Shanshan, has come under scrutiny in the small northeastern US state of New Hampshire, home to just more than 1 million residents, over a plan to develop an industrial site in the state's second-largest city, Nashua. The controversy began in May when it emerged that a US subsidiary of Zhong's firm Nongfu Spring, NF North America, had quietly acquired a single-storey building on a 9.3ha industrial site in Nashua in January. The site had been abandoned for nearly 11 years, and the company planned to build a beverage plant and purchase the city's surplus water for its operations. 'Chinese billionaire wants NH water,' declared a local news headline that month. Zhong founded Nongfu Spring, now China's largest beverage company. His net worth is estimated at US$64 billion. Unlike earlier large Chinese investments that might have been unremarkable before China became synonymous with national security threats to US policymakers left and right, NF North America's prospects now appear uncertain. Likewise, similar deals, including battery giant Gotion, CATL's partnership with Ford, and agribusiness firm Fufeng, have been stalled entirely in recent years or face mounting scrutiny. As US President Donald Trump's trade team negotiates with Beijing in hopes of striking a deal by Aug 11 and easing tensions, the controversy over Nongfu Spring's property purchase in New Hampshire underscores the limits of such efforts. While a trade agreement may reduce tariff burdens, experts say it cannot resolve the deeper issue of political mistrust that continues to strain US-China relations. The US$67 million Nongfu purchase, more than four times the site's assessed value of US$15 million, quickly drew attention. The site's steep purchase price and location near critical infrastructure, including a watershed area that supplies drinking water for the city, defence contractor BAE Systems, and a federal aviation control centre, sparked concern among local residents and lawmakers. A bill restricting land sales near military installations to entities from 'foreign adversaries', including China, had previously stalled in the state's legislature. The Nongfu case, however, revived the issue's political momentum, spurring lawmakers to incorporate the measure into the state budget, which passed in June. The new law also grants the attorney general authority to seek forfeiture of any such property. Now, some state Republican leaders are calling for further scrutiny. They are pushing for both state-level enforcement and an investigation by the federal Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, also known as CFIUS - a US Treasury Department-led body able to review and possibly cancel this purchase on national security grounds. Meanwhile, plans to build a beverage plant on the site appear stalled. Some locals argue that selling surplus city water to a private company could lower public water bills. But the conversation in social media and local news reports has shifted to speculation over why a Chinese billionaire is interested in an abandoned property, fuelling rumours of a Chinese takeover of local water resources. According to Chris Pereira, CEO of iMpact, a New York-based consultancy that helps Chinese firms in their global operations, 'the fact that Zhong is China's richest man makes this story far more politically charged'. He said that in the current geopolitical environment, 'linking a major land acquisition to a prominent Chinese billionaire, especially one in a strategic sector like water, adds fuel to public scepticism and political posturing'. 'The price paid for the land only adds to the perception that 'something must be going on', even if the purchase is commercially justified,' Pereira added, saying these elements 'create an optics problem more than a substance problem'. The Nashua Planning Department told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) that the company's application to establish a beverage-manufacturing facility was withdrawn in late May, and no active or open application is under consideration. The city has emphasised that it was neither involved in nor informed about the property sale, as it was a private transaction. John Boisvert, CEO of Pennichuck Corp, a semi-private water company controlled by the city that serves about 40,000 customers using water from the Pennichuck watershed and the Merrimack River, said routine due diligence meetings were held by local authorities on the company's proposal to set up a plant and buy water from Pennichuck between October and December. After saying yes, though, Pennichuck has not heard back from NF North America on 'the next steps'. Boisvert said there has been a lot of misreporting on the issue, especially some claims about Nongfu trying to take over the Pennichuck water system. 'It was reported that, which is completely inaccurate, that we are selling ourselves to this company. It's not the case,' he told SCMP in an interview. Boisvert said Pennichuck has the capacity to sell surplus water to private investors who pay for necessary infrastructure, which could lower consumer costs, although there is no guarantee of bill reductions. The cost, 'in theory, could go down', he said. However, state Republican lawmakers argue that Nongfu has yet to address a number of unresolved questions. In a joint statement released on Jul 17, state Senators Kevin Avard and Regina Birdsell, co-sponsors of the bill to block Chinese entities from purchasing land near military installations, vowed to continue opposing the Nongfu deal. Birdsell said the latest case shows that 'our foreign adversaries are very interested in acquiring US land', adding that had her bill been passed last year, 'this purchase in Nashua would never have happened'. She pledged to 'continue bringing attention to this important matter so that our critical infrastructures are not compromised' and that all New Hampshire residents are 'safe from foreign threats'. Avard said 'there are many unanswered questions about this deal', and that he found it 'disconcerting that city officials in Nashua allowed this deal to be approved so quickly without a public conversation'. 'The land purchase is close to a number of defence contractors in our state, such as BAE in Nashua, and within 14 miles of the New Boston Space Force station,' he said, adding that military personnel from the US Space Force had come to 'Concord this year to testify about real attempts to steal intelligence in New Hampshire'. Avard appeared, in an opinion piece run by a local publication in June, to link the deal with possible agriculture terrorism, citing the arrest of two Chinese nationals in Michigan that month for allegedly smuggling what the US Justice Department called a 'dangerous biological pathogen'. 'Nashua is the first city to grant a domestic water contract to Nongfu Spring, with Nongfu announcing plans to expand aggressively in America by gaining access to our tap water for bottling operations,' he asserted. Avard also called on CFIUS 'to abrogate this contract that potentially threatens our national interests'. 'Any company subject to CCP (China's Communist Party) influence that has access to America's food or water supply ought to qualify for debarment,' he said, adding that he has not heard back from the investment review board. Avard has also criticised US Representative Maggie Goodlander, a Democrat who represents New Hampshire's Second District, which includes Nashua. Goodlander is married to Jake Sullivan, former US President Joe Biden's national security adviser. 'Goodlander is intent on criticising Trump's China tariffs and Trump's revocation of visas for Chinese students. Concern over selling access to our water supply? Crickets,' he wrote in his opinion piece. Neither Birdsell nor Avard responded to a request for comment from SCMP. Nongfu also did not respond over these concerns. No official website could be found for NF North America, though public records show the company is registered in Delaware. Last week, the Hodge twins, brothers Keith and Kevin Hodge - conservative commentators known as the 'Conservative Twins' with nearly 6.5 million followers on Facebook - also weighed in on the case through their social media channels. 'One of China's richest men, Zhong Shanshan, just bought US$67 million worth of New Hampshire land at FOUR TIMES its assessed value,' the post said. It asked why the 'CCP' was 'buying up land near critical US utilities and sensitive sites.' Their post lauded Avard and Birdsell for 'raising the alarm'. Some New Hampshire residents have been posting their concerns on social media groups as well, raising similar concerns about the company's alleged links to the CCP and calling for a reversal of the deal. This is not the first time a Chinese company has found itself at the eye of a storm in the US. In 2022, a Chinese agribusiness project was cancelled despite CFIUS clearance because it was close to a military facility. Two battery plants by a US subsidiary of China's Gotion have been mired in legal troubles because of public and political opposition in Michigan and Illinois. The battery plants became an election issue last year, with then-vice-presidential candidate JD Vance himself conducting a rally in the town where the plant is proposed to be built. Trump has also opposed the project despite telling foreign companies to build factories in the US to avoid tariffs. 'I think it's possible that Nongfu becomes the next casualty in a pattern that's becoming more common. Even if there's no wrongdoing, the risk of politicisation alone can delay, derail, or discourage a project entirely,' Pereira said. For Nongfu, he added, 'this could mean shelving or re-routing its US expansion plans, or rethinking how it enters foreign markets more broadly.' 'Companies like Nongfu will increasingly need to invest not just in factories, but in local trust-building, public engagement, and strategic communications; otherwise their investments may never get off the ground, no matter how commercially viable they are,' Pereira said. A survey of 100 Chinese companies by the China General Chamber of Commerce in April found widespread pessimism about future investment in the US under the second Trump administration. The companies identified a wide range of expected challenges to their US operations this year and next, with 90 per cent citing the stalemate in bilateral political and cultural relations, 73 per cent pointing to frictions in economic and trade ties, and 60 per cent flagging restrictive US foreign investment policies. Even as the US and China agreed at trade talks in Sweden this week to seek an extension of their 90-day tariff truce while pledging to continue to talk to address their differences, Pereira said that 'a trade deal may help ease tariff burdens, but it's unlikely to solve the deeper issue, which is political trust, or lack thereof'. 'What we're seeing now isn't primarily about trade policy', he added, saying the Nongfu case 'illustrates that the challenges are now more reputational and political than transactional'.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Chinese tycoon's proposed water deal spurs objections in US state of New Hampshire
China's richest man, Zhong Shanshan, has come under scrutiny in the small northeastern US state of New Hampshire, home to just over 1 million residents, over a plan to develop an industrial site in the state's second-largest city, Nashua. The controversy began in May when it emerged that a US subsidiary of Zhong's firm, Nongfu Spring, NF North America, had quietly acquired a single-storey building on a 9.3-hectare (23-acre) industrial site in Nashua in January. The site had been abandoned for nearly 11 years, and the company planned to build a beverage plant and purchase the city's surplus water for its operations. 'Chinese billionaire wants NH water,' declared a local news headline that month. Zhong founded Nongfu Spring, now China's largest beverage company. His net worth is estimated at US$64 billion. Unlike earlier large Chinese investments that might have been unremarkable before China became synonymous with national security threats to US policymakers left and right, NF North America's prospects now appear uncertain. Likewise, similar deals, including battery giant Gotion , CATL's partnership with Ford, and agribusiness firm Fufeng , have been stalled entirely in recent years or face mounting scrutiny.
Forbes
23-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Nongfu Spring's Zhong Becomes China's Richest Again On Boosted Outlook
An employee carries out a quality check at Nongfu Spring's plant in Huangshan City, Anhui Province. Shi Yalei/VCG via Getty Images Zhong Shanshan, founder and chairman of beverage giant Nongfu Spring, has reclaimed his crown as China's richest person amid a turnaround of his business and family travails at top rival Hangzhou Wahaha Group. Zhong, 70, has a net worth of $65.7 billion largely based on a Nongfu Spring stake, according to Forbes estimates. He is No. 1 in China on The Real-Time Billionaires List, a tad ahead of ByteDance cofounder Zhang Yiming, who has a fortune of $65.5 billion based on his stake in the parent of the TikTok short video platform. The beverage tycoon's comeback is a result of Nongfu Spring's Hong Kong-listed shares surging 35.8% this year to date. Underpinning that rally is a brighter outlook for the company's core bottled water business, which suffered last year as brands including itself used aggressive discounts to compete for frugal shoppers. This year, discounting pressure is expected to ease as Beijing attempts to rein in price wars in various industries to help an economy facing deflationary pressures, Kenny Ng, a Hong Kong-based securities strategist at Everbright Securities International, says by WeChat. As an industry leader, Nongfu Spring is also expected to benefit from consumers stockpiling bottled water during the summer, especially as Chinese e-commerce platforms hand out subsidies to grow their food-delivery platforms, Jacky Tsang, a Hong Kong-based analyst at research firm Morningstar, says by email. In a July research note, Tsang estimated that sales at Nongfu Spring will grow 13.6% year-on-year to 48.7 billion yuan ($6.8 billion) in 2025, also reflecting buoyant sales from the company's tea business. Last year, revenue was flattish at 42.9 billion yuan as Nongfu Spring experienced 'unprecedented assault and trial,' the company wrote in its annual report. Chairman Zhong was once accused of amassing his massive wealth by undermining former business partner Zong Qinghou, the late founder of fellow Hangzhou-based beverage giant Wahaha Group, who passed away last year at the age of 79. Zhong has denied such allegations, but soon faced criticism on another front, as some nationalist customers criticized the packaging of certain Nongfu Spring products as being 'pro-Japan' because of what they claimed to be Japanese-style artwork. The company's shares tanked because of that P.R. problem and the price war, causing Zhong to lose his position as China's richest person. But the competitive landscape shifted this year and may further tilt in Nongfu Spring's favor as Wahaha management navigates an escalating family feud, says Everbright Securities International's Ng. The feud is hurting Wahaha's brand image. The privately held company has long been portrayed as a national brand led by the late Zong, a frugal tycoon who was devoted to his family, particularly his daughter Zong Fuli. Fuli, known by her English name Kelly, was thought to be the tycoon's only child. She succeeded him as chairman last year and is also the company's CEO. But a court case has claimed that Zong had other offspring. Three plaintiffs who claim to be Kelly Zong's half-siblings are asking her to set up $700 million worth of trusts for each of them. A related hearing has been scheduled on August 1 in the High Court of Hong Kong, according to the court's website. A Wahaha spokesperson didn't respond to messages seeking comment. Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of the state-run Global Times, said last week via China's Weibo platform that the public's rosy view of the late Zong had been spattered. Everbright's Ng says the lawsuit might divert management's attention from business matters—just as competition heats up in the summer season. 'A lawsuit involving top management will hurt a company's brand image,' he says. 'They may also affect management's focus on business strategies.' Wahaha's corporate structure remains intact. Kelly Zong is still the owner of a 29.4% company stake inherited from her father, According to local corporate database Qichacha, the company's largest shareholder is an investment arm of the Hangzhou government, which owns 46%. The remaining 24.6% is owned by Wahaha employees, Qichacha filing shows. Shen Meng, Beijing-based managing director of boutique investment bank Chanson&Co. says there is a chance that the government-affiliated shareholders might step in to prevent the feud from escalating further.
Miami Herald
16-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
China's Richest Man Buying Water Supply of New Hampshire Town Sparks Alarm
China's largest beverage company, Nongfu Spring, has bought a site in Nashua, New Hampshire, next to the Pennichuck water system. The firm, owned by China's richest man, Zhong Shanshan, will have access to the local water for its plant, NewsNation reported last month. This has caused alarm among locals and politicians, who say most people in Nashua are unaware of the sale. Newsweek has contacted Nongfu Spring via email for comment. The property sits near infrastructure critical to Nashua's drinking water system. While Nongfu Spring has not yet outlined plans for extraction or bottling, its ownership and the company's global strategy-focused heavily on exporting bottled water-have drawn scrutiny. "Being tied into our Pennichuck water system and taking millions of gallons a day of drinking water from the citizens of Nashua is very concerning," local resident Bob Lozeau told NewsNation. Stag Industrial Holdings LLC, a real estate investment trust, sold the land to NF North America, a subsidiary of Nongfu Spring, on January 31, according to the Hillsborough County Register of Deeds, reviewed by New Hampshire newspaper The Keene Sentinel. The property, a 337,391-square-foot single-story building on 23 acres at 80 Northwest Blvd., which has not been used for 11 years, was bought at four times more than its assessed value - $67 million, despite it being valued at $15 million by the city of Nashua. It is near Nashua Airport, some defense centers and a Federal Aviation Administration control center. Water for the site will be provided by Pennichuck Water Works, according to the city of Nashua. "It falls within our existing withdrawal permits," Pennichuck CEO John Boisvert said. Boisvert went on to explain that the water system has "a lot of excess capacity." "We're permitted for over 30 million gallons a day," he told The Keene Sentinel. "If you look at average day demands, we're somewhere around 11 or 12 million gallons. In the summertime, we can go up to 20. We've got a lot of excess capacity in that withdrawal." But there are still people who are concerned about the sale, including Republican State Senator Kevin Avard, who told Newsweek: "I find it disconcerting that the Mayor and other city officials have allowed this project to move so quickly without addressing these very real concerns. They need to come forward and address the questions and concerns from the public on this deal, everything from the sale price and real value of this property as well as their intentions with our water supply. This needs to be a public conversation." There are no federal or New Hampshire state laws that block a Chinese company from owning property there, but Republican Senator Regina Birdsell (Hampstead) has called for certain foreign nationals, including China, to be banned from owning land in New Hampshire, reports the New Hampshire Journal. Stag Industrial Holdings LLC said in a press release in February: "STAG Industrial, Inc. completed the sale of a building in Nashua, N.H. for gross proceeds of $67.0 million. Representing a cash cap rate of 4.9 percent, the sale to an undisclosed buyer ended an 11-year hold on the property." Lily Tang Williams, who is running for Congress in New Hampshire, after fleeing China, said: "I have been trying to warn people. Xi Jinping has a China dream, and his China dream is to use a soft power invasion. Business. Education. Apps like TikTok and WeChat. Media. Entertainment. Everything they can, without firing one shot, to expand into western countries like the United States." City leaders in Nashua stated that the commercial property will be subject to standard regulatory procedures and environmental oversight. Any application or plan by Nongfu Spring to extract water or use the property in a manner affecting local resources is expected to undergo public review and permitting processes. Discussions about tightening restrictions on foreign land acquisitions near critical infrastructure continue at the state and federal levels. Update 7/16/25, 11:26 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with comment fromState Senator Kevin Avard. Related Articles Map Shows States Where Unemployment Claims Are Rising and FallingTrump Supporter With Green Card Who Was in US Since Age 3 Denied ReentryRite Aid Announces Further Closures: Full List of LocationsWoman 'Happy' at Husband's Response After His Mom Questions Baby's Name 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
