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Inter Milan owners need readies

Inter Milan owners Suning have been looking for $200m in emergency cash to shore up the finances of the Serie A club.   Now China's biggest bricks and mortar retail group are planning to sell a $2.5bn stake in an online subsidiary.

The shares of Suning were temporarily suspended in Shenzhen on Thursday.  There is increasing market scrutiny of a number of Chinese conglomerates with substantial debt obligations.  Suning did pay off $1.5bn in debt last year, but has $600m of notes due in September.

Suning paid $270m for Inter Milan in 2016.   The political weather in China has since changed and companies are discouraged from making 'prestige' overseas investments, not least in football.   A number have pulled out of their European investments or are seeking to do so.

Part of the background is growing tensions between China and western powers on a range of issues.  Policies that advocated an 'opening' to China are now out of favour.   However, there are differences between countries with Germany arguably influenced by its substantial export markets in the PRC.

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