Nicaragua canal builder Wang Jing admits ties to president's son

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-08-31

Wang Jing. (Internet photo)

Mysterious Chinese billionaire Wang Jing has admitted to being "good friends" with the son of President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua but insists that the relationship had nothing to do with his company scoring a lucrative deal to build a US$40 billion canal across the Central American country.

The 42-year-old Wang was thrust into the spotlight last June after his company, Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment, won a 50-year concession (with an optional 50-year extension) to design, build and manage the proposed canal to provide an alternative trade route to the Panama Canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Late last year he also announced plans to invest US10 billion in a deepwater port in Crimea, then part of Ukraine, though that project has been suspended indefinitely due to the peninsula's annexation by Russia and the ongoing instability in the region.

In an exclusive interview posted on Huanqiu.com, the Chinese-language website of the nationalistic Global Times tabloid, Wang openly confirmed rumors that he is friends with Laureano Ortega, the son of Nicaragua's president, but staunchly denied that it had any connection to his company winning the canal concession.

"Any personal feelings would be unable to affect a project as important as this canal," he said, adding that the project was formed within an "open, fair, equitable and transparent legal framework."

Wang said in the interview that he decided to take on the canal project for three main reasons. First, he believes the world has a pressing need for the canal due to the explosive growth in international trade, resulting in month-long queues for some vessels to pass the Panama Canal. Second, he believes Chinese enterprises are best equipped to handle the project because of their experience in infrastructure construction and their investment and financing ability, as well as their economic, technological, engineering and other advantages. Third, Wang said, "Somebody has to do it."

The billionaire said that he is investing a lot of his own money into the project, noting that he is shelling out at least US$7-$8 million and perhaps as much as US$20 million a month out of his own pocket.

Wang also provided an update on the project, noting that it was progressing well with more than a dozen companies on board, including state-owned enterprises, foreign companies, financial institutions, equipment manufacturers and design engineers. He emphasized, however, that his company holds the largest share in the project and will continue to be its controlling shareholder and leader.

He estimates there are currently around 500 staff on site in Nicaragua, all technical personnel working on pre-construction modeling and evaluations such as societal and environmental impact assessments. In China there are about 600 people involved in the project, including about 30 people in the Hong Kong office where the canal company is headquartered, he added.

As for the future earning potential of the canal, Wang said his analysts believe it can collect several billions of US dollars in fees a year, which is important from a commercial perspective as there are shareholders and investors involved. From a personal perspective, however, Wang said he values the giant social benefits of the canal even more than the economic ones.

Despite rumors surrounding his mysterious background, Wang continued to insist that he is an "ordinary" businessman.

"I have nothing to do with the government, the military, the Communist Party or politics," he said. "I'm not a party member, I'm simply one of the masses."