Unable to "generate sufficient revenues from traditional broadcasting and sponsorship deals," Australian Football League side Port Adelaide turned itself into a "dating agency" that "brings in wealthy investors to meet local companies, gaining a fee if any deal is completed," club Chair David Koch said, according to Tom Hancock of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Chinese mining entrepreneur Sally Zou, who has "backed the team," praised Saturday's match against the Gold Coast Suns on Twitter while Chinese property mogul Gui Guojie and mining magnate Gina Rinehart attended the match in Shanghai's Jiangwan stadium, "rubbing shoulders with board members of Rio Tinto in a VIP tent serving Australian wine and beef." Koch said, "We basically say to Chinese companies who have business interests in Australia that if you want to connect with the Australian community, Port Adelaide is China's club." China is Australia's largest trading partner but a "rising tide of Chinese investment into the country," worth A$3.5B last year, has been "greeted with suspicion." Several "high-profile deals" have been blocked by Canberra on "security grounds." Koch: "There is a clash of culture. While we like trading with each other, we don't quite understand each other. We are using our business networks in Australia to bridge the trust gap" (FT, 5/15).
