英闻天下——32 China's Overseas Acquisition On the Rise in 2012

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　　"Canadian rules are the strongest anywhere in the world and as long as companies are following those rules, then everybody will benefit - the investment side from China, those receiving the investment in Canada, exploration will go ahead, jobs will be created, there will be more prosperity in both countries."

 

　　Stockwell Day, Canada's former Trade Minister, made the comments after the takeover of Canadian oil and gas giant Nexen by the China National Offshore¹ Oil Corporation.

 

　　The 15-billion US dollar deal, approved by the Canadian government in early December, is the largest overseas aquisition by a Chinese company so far.

 

　　The deal also marks the climax² of a wave of overseas acquisitions by Chinese companies in 2012.

 

　　As of November, the total value of overseas Chinese acquisitions had hit 27-billion US dollars, up 13.5 percent from a year earlier.

 

　　Ji Li is with the Beijing-based "Zero2IPO Research Center."

 

　　"As of November, Chinese enterprises finished 103 overseas acquisitions, worth 26.5 billion US dollars. The destinations of the investment were focused on developed markets, especially in Europe and the US. The deals covered such sectors³ as natural resources, high-tech⁴ and machinery⁵ manufacturing."

 

　　In Europe, one of the high-profile acquisitions was made by Sany Heavy Industry, China's largest construction equipment group.

 

　　Sany announced in July that it fully⁶ acquired Intermix GmbH, a German mixer-truck maker⁷.

 

　　Sany spent around 10-million US dollars to buy Intermix from founder⁸ Hans-George Stetter.

 

　　In the United States, Chinese companies have also made a number of acquisitions.

 

　　In September, Dalian Wanda Group completed its acquisition of AMC Entertainment in Los Angeles in a deal reportedly valued at 2.6-billion US dollars.

 

　　The deal has made Wanda the world's largest cinema owner.

 

　　Wang Jianlin is the chair of the Dalian Wanda Group.

 

　　He's describing the deal as landmark⁹ for Chinese companies taking the global stage.

 

　　"It's a demonstration¹⁰ of the strength of Chinese companies that a Chinese company can buy up a big US company. In the past, it was normal for US companies to acquire Chinese ones. I think now is a turning point. I believe that it will be a trend that more and more US companies will be acquired by Chinese enterprises in the next 10 to 20 years."

 

　　But the road to global expansion hasn't always been smooth for Chinese companies in 2012.

 

　　In October, US President Barack Obama blocked an attempt by Ralls Corp to acquire four wind farm projects in Oregon.

 

　　It's the first time a sitting US President has blocked a foreign aquisition in 22-years.

 

　　Ralls Corp is now suing Obama, claiming the President has overstepped his authority.

 

　　And during the same month, a US congressional panel warned that Chinese telecom firms Huawei and ZTE pose a security threat to the US.

 

　　The House Intelligence Committee says the two firms should be barred from any US mergers¹¹ and acquisitions.

 

　　William Plummer, Huawei's spokesperson in the US, says the allegations are dangerous political distractions¹³.

 

　　"These recommendations put at risk on American jobs. These recommendations put at risk hundreds of millions of dollars of investment from outside the US into this country. It is a political distraction¹²."

 

　　Ji Li with Zero2IPO Research Center says what Huawei and ZTE experienced is a reminder¹⁴ of the potential political hurdles¹⁵ Chinese companies might face overseas.

 

　　"Judging from the case of Huawei and ZTE, some foreign governments may adopt protectionist policies amid their sluggish¹⁶ economy. Under this circumstance, Chinese enterprises seeking for overseas acquisitions need to guard against these risks. "

 

　　The analyst¹⁷ is predicting Chinese companies' overseas acquisitions will continue to gather momentum¹⁸ this coming year.

 

　　But he cautions Chinese companies need to keep cool-headed, well-prepared and craft proper strategies to attain¹⁹ their goals.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Laiming.

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