Tycoon 'serious' about buying New York Times

A Chinese tycoon said yesterday he is serious about buying the New York Times and wants to work on "rebuilding its credibility and influence" by reforming its coverage of China.

Chen Guangbiao, one of China's 400 richest people, penned an article in the Chinese-language Global Times newspaper headlined: "I intend to buy the New York Times, please don't take it as a joke."

"The tradition and style of the New York Times make it very difficult to have objective coverage of China," Chen wrote in the paper run by the People's Daily, the ruling Party's official newspaper. "If we could purchase it, its tone might turn around. Therefore I have been involved in discussing acquisition-related matters with like-minded investors."

Chen said that if he succeeds he "will conduct some necessary reforms, the ultimate goal of which is to make the paper's reports more authentic and objective, thus rebuilding its credibility and influence."

Chen said he has "persuaded a Hong Kong entrepreneur to contribute US$600 million to this cause" of buying the paper, whose parent company is listed on Wall Street and has a market capitalization of more than US$2 billion.

"I have said as long as the price is reasonable, there is nothing that cannot be bought," Chen wrote.

He said he first had the idea of buying the newspaper when he placed an advertisement in December 2012 asserting Chinese sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea.

"I find Americans know little about a civilized and open China that has been enjoying unprecedented development," Chen wrote.

Last Monday, Chen said he planned to travel to the US "to discuss the acquisition" of the paper, a remark many dismissed as the entrepreneur's play for attention.

Four days later, Chen was spotted by a Chinese Business News reporter at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.

A New York Times spokeswoman told a reporter for the newspaper last week that the company had "no information" about any negotiations with Chen.

Chen built his fortune, estimated at five billion yuan (US$825 million), on recycling company Huangpu Renewable Resources Utilisation Group.

But he has been derided by some critics as a publicity hound who will go to great lengths for attention. In the past, he has sold "canned fresh air" to residents of smog-ridden Beijing and recently posed in front of a wall made out of thousands of "bricks" made of banknotes.