Chinese tycoon claims Iceland deal set

Chinese business tycoon Huang Nubo said on Saturday his deal to rent land in Iceland was approved after Icelandic government officials held a high-level meeting on Friday.

During the meeting, a committee representing Iceland's ministries of economy, finance and industry recommended that the government approve a deal allowing the Chinese to lease instead of buying the land.

In November 2011, the Iceland minister of interior rejected Huang's plans to buy a piece of land known as Grimsstadir a Fjoellum for a top resort and tourist facility.

Huang said he learned the good news from his company's agent in Reykjavik at midnight Friday. He assured China Daily that he will sign a deal in mid-June but "the details of the term will need further negotiation".

Huang said he believes that, during the whole process, he has played a positive role in telling his personal story of turning from a government employee to a successful private business owner during the 30 years of the country's reform and opening up. He worked for a Party department and the Ministry of Construction in the 1980s but quit in the early 1990s when many officials turned to business during the economic boom.

"I'm accompanied by a handful of successful businessmen like me. The West knows little about the transformation. My story helps them to better understand China and what's happening here," he said.