Murdoch empire borrows US$100m from state-owned Bank of China

[WhiteTara]

https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/04/01/murdoch-borrows-us100m-state-owned-bank-of-china/


News / Business
Murdoch empire borrows US$100m from state-owned Bank of China

Despite his media operations slamming Xi Jinping's regime, the Murdochs accepted a megamillion-dollar loan from the government-run bank.

Glenn Dyer and Stephen Mayne

Apr 01, 2022

In a classic case of “do as I say, not as I do”, the Murdoch family has tapped into a US$100 million loan from a Chinese government bank, at the same time as its global media empire is going to war with the Chinese Communist Party.

The Murdochs have gerrymandered control over two public companies — News Corp and Fox Corp — and ever since COVID hit two years ago their outlets — such as Sky News Australia, The Australian, Fox News and The New York Post — have become virulent critics of the Chinese regime.

However, China has become even more toxic globally in recent weeks given its collaboration with Vladimir Putin, and concerns in Australia have been amplified by its attempts to establish a naval base in the Solomon Islands.

So what should the world make of News Corp’s decision to accept a US$100 million loan from the state-owned Bank of China’s New York branch as part of a massive US$1.25 billion loan package revealed on Thursday? Is it a case of Beijing seeking to influence the Murdochs by stepping up as a key family financier? And should the Murdochs have refused the money, effectively joining the global ESG boycott of Russia in which more than 400 global companies have pulled out or temporarily closed their Russian operations?

The Bank of China is the second biggest player in the 13-bank News Corp syndicate after Bank of America, which is contributing US$111.7 million. The Bank of China is massive — it has an estimated US$3.7 trillion in assets and is the largest and oldest bank on the Chinese mainland.

snip to the last paragraph

Faced with the ethical dilemma of whether to accept a US$100 million loan from the Bank of China in the current environment, it’s hard to imagine the Disney board agreeing to such a proposition.

But for Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, it was no problem whatsoever — meaning that, as of yesterday, parts of the Murdoch media empire are “partially brought to you by the autocratic dictators in Beijing”. But don’t expect this to be disclosed by News Corp’s anti-China shock jocks any time soon.

[KPN]

1. For news media, obtaining financing from foreign sources should be illegal. nt

[PortTack]

2. Fux posted an 83 million dollar loss last qrtr. Interesting that he has to borrow money

Maybe it’s not as popular as it nice was?