The London-based analytics firm GlobalData released a new report this week that highlights how Chinese companies are looking to buy distressed assets around the world as prices slump due to the deteriorating global economy.
The Chinese appear eager to take advantage of low asset prices in many countries, particularly in Asia, Europe, and North America, brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic:
“During January to April 2020, 57 Chinese outbound M&A deals worth US$9.9bn and 145 Chinese outbound investments worth US$4.5bn were announced. The key M&A target destinations for Chinese firms included Hong Kong, the US, the UK, Germany, France, Canada and India. The key investment destinations during the period included the US, India, the UK, Hong Kong, Japan, France, Germany, South Korea and Australia.
Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Chinese companies’ acquisition of distressed foreign assets at much cheaper price during COVID-19 pandemic remains an area of concern with governments across several countries tightening their foreign direct investment (FDI) policies.”
Africa was not listed in the report as a destination for Chinese M&A scouts.
