As investors gain more confidence in the global economy, the wheels of the Chinese inbound and outbound M&A industry are expected to turn continuously for the rest of 2014.
Vivian Lam, partner, corporate department at Paul Hastings, says: “The slowdown of the Chinese economy will not have a negative impact on Chinese companies going abroad. On the contrary, more state-owned and privately-owned companies will be encouraged to go offshore to find global opportunities.
“They will make the decisions from a commercial perspective rather than from a political standpoint. The industries they are interested in will be more diversified, such as food, consumer goods, real estate, TMT, and financing, due to the relaxation of government regulation.”
David Blumenfeld, partner, real estate department at Paul Hastings, says: “Although onshore liquidity appears to be tight, clients tell us they are seeing opportunities. Many international institutional investors are sitting on the side lines, waiting to get back in when prices moderate to reflect the changes in the market.
“People are becoming more realistic, as economic growth slows and transitional challenges loom. Investors are looking at a number of structures to finance deals including equity and mezzanine debt. The search by Chinese real estate investors for trophy properties in leading international financial centres continues to intensify.”