On June 11, the Nicaraguan Parliament voted in favor of building a $40 billion canal across the country connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Since the country is dirt poor, the money would have to come from international investors. It would be raised by a Hong Kong-based firm, HKDN Group, which in return would get the right to build and run the canal for 50 years. But nobody outside Nicaragua took the plan very seriously.
On June 15, Nicaragua's president, Daniel Ortega, and Wang Jing, the owner of HKDN, signed a contract that gives the Central American nation 51 percent of the company's shares. Wang said the capital could easily be raised from Chinese companies and international banks — but since his only business experience has been in running telecommunications firm Xinwei Telecom, again nobody took much notice.