China’s Cross-Border M&A Surges 31 Percent

Cross-border M&A activities across the globe have already reached $132.7 billion this year, reportedly driven by acquisitions in China.

As Reuters reported late last week, worldwide M&A deals have increased 31 percent from a year earlier, representing the strongest growth in a year-to-date period since 2006.

Thomson Reuters data shows that Chinese acquisitions have comprised four of the top six cross-border deals, with M&A activities within the country accounting for nearly 47 percent of all cross-border contracts in 2016. The biggest M&A deal with Chinese involvement, as well as the biggest foreign purchase by a Chinese company, took place last week when ChemChina agreed to purchase Syngenta for $43 billion, according to the data.

While worldwide M&A deals hit a record high in 2015, Reuters said activity has gotten off to a slower start in 2016, dropping 22 percent compared to the same period a year ago, reaching a total of $241 billion.

The flurry of cross-border transactions, both commercial and corporate, is on the rise in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to the PayPal and Ipsos “Cross-Border Consumer Research 2015” report, online shoppers in the Asia-Pacific region were responsible for $594 billion in spending throughout 2015. In detail, 69 percent of consumers in Singapore facilitated online orders from merchants outside of their country, just as 65 percent of Australians and 38 percent of Indians did the same.

While Asia-Pacific may already be showing a big appetite for online international shopping, the PayPal/Ipsos report projected massive growth for the region in the near future. By 2017, the firms estimated that India would experience a 53 percent spike in online shopping, while already-booming China would see a 28 percent boost. Singapore, too, should enjoy a modest 16 percent increase in digital cross-border commerce.