BNP Paribas managing director Federico Bazzoni has revealed Saturday that a group of Chinese investors are interested in buying an Italian Serie B club.

"A group of Chinese entrepreneurs, who already have investments in Italy, are interested in buying a soccer team," said Bazzoni at Saturday's Forum Risparmio in Milan.

"I wouldn't even tell my brother the name of the team," he said, though it is believed that the club in question is Triestina. The city of Trieste has the third-largest Chinese population in Italy after Milan and Prato, and last December Beijing entrepreneurs announced plans to build a shopping centre in the northeastern Italian city.

According to Bazzoni, two medium-sized Italian Serie A clubs are currently in negotiations to buy a Chinese Super League team: "A State-owned Chinese group are set to sell a series of assets, including a soccer club, and are willing to reach agreements to allow a foreign buyer to use its ownership of the team to promote its commercial activities."

Source: Agencies/Shen Zhen Daily