Yep, That $500 M from China to Trump Project Looks Like a Pretty Big Deal - By Josh Marshall

[DonViejo]

May 15, 2018 9:38 am

You probably saw the news yesterday that just days before President Trump tweeted that he was intent on saving that sanctions-busting Chinese telecommunications company, China had agreed to loan $500 million to a major Trump-backed development in Indonesia. These kinds of situations are now basically commonplace in the Trump Era. But it is important to look at them from a macro- and a micro-perspective. The details are quite complex in the latter case. We are still digging into them. But I wanted to give you a first sense of what we’re finding. Because they make Trump’s connection to the operation and potential profits look considerably tighter than what I’d been led to expect yesterday from early reports.

First some basic details. The mega project is something called the Lido City development about an hour outside of Jakarta. It’s like a mini-luxury city set on 3,000 hectares, which is just over 7,400 acres. Trump has a hotel there and a golf course and various other facilities. There’s also an amusement park planned on the grounds. That’s going to be built by a subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned company called Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC). They appear to be essentially bringing with them $500 million in Chinese-government backed loans for the development of the amusement park. Makes sense: they’re both parts of the Chinese government. That’s the commitment that came just before Trump’s tweet and which has gotten all the attention.

Now, the question I had was ‘is this just one more component of a huge development that Trump also just has one part of?’ The answer seems pretty clearly to be no. The overall project has two backers: MNC corporation of Indonesia (huge diversified mega corp) and the Trump Organization (family company of American strongman). A corporate financial/promotional document for MNC says the company “is currently developing the MNC Lido City project; both theme park and smart city – in partnership with The Trump Hotel Collection. (emphasis added)”

So MNC actually says that it and Trump Org. are developing the theme park jointly. That sounds pretty tight. They actually refer to the whole project as a “Trump Community.” In other documents, they refer to the Trump Organization having licensing and management contracts for facilities in Lido City beyond the Trump buildings and residences.

To be clear, these are phrases. We don’t know what the underlying contractual connections are or value of these various relationships and management contracts are. If experience is any guide, Trump tends to keep his investments limited and rely on the Trump brand to leverage upsides and revenues from management and licensing. But the press references to this project being “connected to” Trump seem to significantly understate the relationship.

More to come.

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https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/yep-that-500-m-from-china-to-trump-project-looks-like-a-pretty-big-deal

[uponit7771]

1. Ryan And McTurtle will ignore him

[democratisphere]

2. How's this for a big drumpf in your face FU!

[mopinko]

3. i'm starting to get the feeling mueller is never gonna be able to wrap up

because new crimes keep piling up.

[NewJeffCT]

7. yes

with all the countries (Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, China, Seychelles, Czech Republic, Ukraine, etc) and all the players involved, this is making Watergate look like a kid's game of pin the tail on the donkey.

[politicaljunkie41910]

12. Mueller can pick one crime to prosecute that puts him behind bars for a long time

and work on the rest of them over whatever time it takes. All we want is the criminal-in-chief behind bars and out of the White House where he can do no more harm to our nation's good will and our relationships with our Allies.

[Ligyron]

14. That's right.

Get him out first and in Jan when we take over we can vote Mueller more funds 'cause he's going to need an army of lawyers and accountants to track down all the GOP corruption.

There again, having him in office for the midterms is a great motivator.

This is a fantasy isn't it?

[politicaljunkie41910]

16. It doesn't have to be, and it won't if we quit eating our own.

[Ligyron]

17. Hey, I'm down.

We can do this!

[rainin]

4. Cornyn has questions, they say. I think he has one question: "How much do I get for my approval?"

[Roland99]

5. But, but, but... Solyndra!!

[dalton99a]

6. Yep.

[Pepsidog]

8. Watergate is child's play compared to the size and scale of the corruption we are seeing.

If Trump is not held accountable then the rule of law in the United States is dead. Why ahould anyone obey the rule of law when the President is a criminal and gets away with lawless actions everyday. The mid-terms and 2020 offer the only hope of saving our country. Otherwise a revolution is coming

[ancianita]

9. We now must define our law and order sovereignty that still must be honored by globalists.

We've done honored the laws of other international partners.

At this point I don't see any way that Trump could appeal to any other codes in the world but America's, no matter how big it all gets for Mueller.

[tom_kelly]

10. We better not hear from Dem leaders that "We're going to move forward..."

without holding every person accountable for these crimes (or at least a majority which includes the top players). Letting 43 go without consequences is what set the tone for what we’re seeing today.

[sarah FAILIN]

11. There is another 500 million in this deal.

After the 500 from government loans he can get another 500 from Chinese banks. A billion....

Trump did not mention in that tweet or its follow-ups that on Thursday, the developer of a theme park resort outside of Jakarta had signed a deal to receive as much as $500 million in Chinese government loans, as well as another $500 million from Chinese banks.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5af9f701e4b0200bcab7fa66/amp

[Still In Wisconsin]

13. Government FOR the Trumps, BY the Trumps, and OF US

One of the most powerful nations in the world now exists primarily for the enrichment of ONE aristocratic family. How are we different from Saudia Arabia at this point? Oh, yeah, it's easier to buy alcohol here.

[Victor_c3]

15. - and republicans always claimed Hillary and her foundation was corrupt

trump’ll show ‘em what pay-to-play is supposed to look like! There’s no vagueness or room for misinterpretation there!

[KY_EnviroGuy]

18. Curious, rational people would have questions....

such as:

* Why is it the Trump brand still has any attraction or value? Is it only to buy favor with the US at this time, with no consideration for the long-term?

* How is the Trump organization a "backer" - implying they are partially funding this project? I thought they were nearly broke.

* If then, the hotel and golf facilities are not funded by Trump, then who is the sugar daddy?

...... ......