Sharp Rise in Mergers, Acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions involving Chinese companies, up to September, are at a record-high of US$172.7 billion, up 12.5 percent compared to the same period last year, data from Thomson Reuters showed on Wednesday.

Energy and electric power were the leading industry sectors for China's M&As, with US$37.8 billion, an increase of 8 percent year-on-year, accounting for 21.9 percent of the total M&A volume.

In the January-September period, cross-border transactions rose 10.5 percent to a record high of US$67.5 billion since 2008 when the total value of M&As stood at US$84.1 billion.

The US market accounts for a quarter of the total cross-border transaction value with the US$7 billion takeover of the US pork processing company Smithfield Foods by China's largest pork producer Shuanghui being a major contributor.

China domestic M&As also hit a record high of US$103.1 billion, up 12.7 percent from a year earlier. The materials industry accounted for 18.2 percent of domestic M&As market followed by the high-tech industry (15 percent) and industrial sector (14.7 percent).