BRUSSELS, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - The European Commission cleared Friday Blackstone Group's purchase of US-based Hilton Hotels Corporation, a buyout which would create the world's biggest hotel concern.

'The Commission has concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition' in the EU area or any substantial part of it, the EU's top competition regulator said in a statement.

Private equity giant Blackstone will be adding Hilton, with more than 2,800 hotels and 480,000 rooms, to a list of hotels it has purchased over the past two years.

BEIJING, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - US private equity giant Blackstone announced Monday its first foray into mainland China in a deal to buy a 20-percent stake in a major Chinese chemical firm for up to 600 million dollars.

Blackstone said the purchase of the stake in China National BlueStar, a subsidiary of the state-owned China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina), was an important step in its expansion into the booming Asian country.

BEIJING, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - US private equity giant Blackstone has signed a deal to buy a 20-percent stake in China National BlueStar, a chemical firm, for up to 600 million dollars, a joint statement said Monday.

Blackstone executives said the deal, the first investment for the firm into mainland China, was an important step in helping it expand into the booming Asian country.

BANGALORE, India, Aug 28, 2007 (AFP) - New York-based private equity giant Blackstone Group made its third investment in an Indian company in two months Tuesday when it bought a stake worth 150 million dollars in a construction firm.

Blackstone will have a presence on the board of Nagarjuna Construction after the purchase, which was approved by directors of the Indian builder, the two companies said.