Chinese outbound M&A activity reached a
record high during the first half of 2011, according to a survey by
Thomson Reuters and ChinaVenture.
Outbound M&A activity increased by 14%
during the six month period from January to June compared to the
same period last year.
Asia remains the top destination for outbound
M&A activity with 33 deals. However, European investment
targets were up with 30 European transactions occurring exceeding
the total into Europe for all of 2010.
“China’s domestic strategic transactions grew
at a pace of 10% to a record level of 1,616 deals in the first half
of the year, and foreign strategic buyers’ inbound M&A activity
remained broadly consistent with 2010. Overall strategic buyer
activity in China will continue to grow steadily. This is a
trend that is in line with the Government’s twelfth five-year
plan,” PwC China transaction services partner Roger Liu commented
on the data.
PwC China predicts inbound strategic
transaction levels to drop as Europe and the US debt crisis
continues to unravel and economic uncertainty grows. But the firm
anticipates strong overall M&A levels in China to continue for
the remainder of the year.
