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NBA Union, Chinese Investment Group Form Business Partnership for Players
10/05/2007 |
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The National Basketball Players Association and China's biggest state-run investment company formed a partnership to develop business opportunities in the world's most populous nation for the union's members.
The players association and International Trust & Investment Corp.'s Citic Guoan Group announced the program, ``Bridges to China,'' in a news release today.
It will focus on developing business opportunities in China, a nation of 1.3 billion people, for active and retired NBA players, including appearances, endorsements and civic and charitable endeavors, while promoting black culture.
``This is not a social experiment,'' Billy Hunter, executive director of the NBPA, said in an interview at the union's Manhattan headquarters. ``This is a for-profit venture.''
Neither the union nor Citic received any money as part of the alliance, which is exclusive to the basketball union, Hunter said.
The announcement comes just over a year before Beijing, China's capital, plays host to the Olympics, with NBA players featured on many national-team rosters.
Citic, with assets of about $120 billion as of 2006, has investments that include cable television networks, telecommunications, advertising, tourism and real estate. Citic also owns a soccer team in Beijing and two dozen golf courses in China.
`Commercial Potential'
``One of the important aspects of our partnership is to maximize the commercial potential of each of the individual players in China,'' Yan Gang, chairman and chief executive officer of Citic's culture and media investments, said through an interpreter during the interview at union office.
The union also is in discussions with de Passe Entertainment, which was founded as Motown Productions, about co-producing a ``musical extravaganza'' and other concerts in China, Hunter said.
In addition, the union and its members might join Citic in projects outside of China, including investment in Angola and South Africa, Hunter said.
``Citic is going to make opportunities available to us wherever they go,'' said Hunter, whose union has operated basketball camps in China for years. ``What I'm trying to do is position the union globally.''
Hunter said he wasn't aware of another sports union entering into such an agreement.
League Plans
In April, the NBA said it will form a business unit in China, where soccer is the most popular sport, and will seek as much as $200 million in outside investment.
Yan said he sees basketball surpassing soccer as China's most popular sport ``not before too long.''
The NBA's popularity in China has risen since Yao Ming joined the league as the top pick in the 2002 draft. The NBA has said it expects retail sales in China to rise by more than 50 percent this year after selling more than 400 million league- licensed products during the season.
``One would be more than foolish not to take advantage of this opportunity,'' Hunter said. ``The possibilities are boundless.''
(Source: Bloomberg.com)
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