China’s overseas acquisitions tanked in 2020. Where did its companies still choose to invest?
Wingtech’s stake in Nexperia increased by nearly 20 percent in 2020. Credit: Wingtech
Chinese investors are proving less ready to splash their cash overseas.
Numbers through November from the Chinese government showed $95 billion in overseas non-financial deals, which make up only a part of all overseas funding. However, the China Global Investment Tracker (CGIT), run for years by the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation, found just $30.5 billion worth of significant investment and construction deals over the entire year.CGIT only tracks deals worth $95 million or more, so smaller deals will account for some of the discrepancy. The CGIT data, which in the past have tended to be more in line with official Chinese figures, indicate that China’s dealmaking overseas peaked in 2016 and 2017, and has declined in every year since.
The global pandemic is likely to have delayed some transactions last year. But the figures also reflect growing unease about Chinese acquisitions, particularly in the U.S. and other Western countries
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