Companies
Chinese investment targets trade routes
Belt and Road areas will be ‘hot places’ this year, analyst says
China’s overseas acquisitions may press on this year, with new impetus from the Belt and Road Initiative and international expansion of major Chinese companies, analysts said.
“As China has tightened its foreign exchange controls to tackle illegal and reckless activities in overseas markets, the development in countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative will become hot places for Chinese investment this year,” said Zhang Jianping, director of the Commerce Ministry’s research center for regional economic cooperation.
A number of big-ticket infrastructure projects have been launched on the two trading routes, including Sri Lanka’s Colombo International Financial City project, the 40 billion yuan ($5.8 billion) China-Laos railway construction project that kicked off in December and the China-Thailand railroad project to be carried out later this year.
Zhang’s comments follow a Financial Times report that said $75 billion in overseas mergers and acquisitions involving Chinese enterprises were called off last year. The United States led, with $59 billion in deals scrapped.
Although China’s overseas investment hit a record high last year, the total number of mergers and acquisitions that fell through also surged. More than 30 in the US and Europe were halted as a result of regulatory clampdowns. The total value of the canceled deals increased by more than sevenfold from 2015, the report said.
The ministry’s Department of Outward Investment and Economic Cooperation said on Tuesday that the $75 billion cited by the Financial Times was much too high and added that it will clarify the situation this week.
Wang Zhile, a senior researcher at the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Internationa.l Trade and Economic Cooperation, said many Chinese companies will have advantages in conducting finance and investment activities in global markets this year. The…
China
Government subsidies don’t boost Chinese firms’ productivity
China’s industrial subsidies have caused considerable controversy both internationally and domestically. Trading partners have accused China of unfairly favouring its indigenous firms with subsidies, leaving foreign companies at a disadvantage in the race to lead the technologies of the future.
Governments around the world regularly spend an enormous amount of money subsidising businesses. But few spend like China. A 2022 report suggests that China spends 1.7–5 per cent of its GDP on industrial policies, more than most countries.
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Chinese Smartphone Manufacturer Lays Off 3,000 Employees Following Closure of Chip Design Division
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Company Owned by Chinese Billionaire Guilty of Paying $1 Million in Bribes to LA Councilman
A Los Angeles real estate firm owned by a Chinese billionaire is guilty of paying more than $1 million in bribes to a Los Angeles city councilman as part of a scheme that involved luxury cruises, high-rolling trips to casinos, and prostitution.
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