Chinese investment in US plunges 83% amid simmering trade war
RT.com
14 Jan, 2019
Chinese investments in North America and Europe fell by 73 percent last year as a result of tightened US scrutiny of foreign takeover deals and Beijing’s restrictions on outbound investments.
Data from law firm Baker & McKenzie showed that Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into the United States have also turned negative, falling to the lowest in seven years. Chinese investments in the US fell by 83 percent, while growing by 80 percent in Canada.
Last year, Chinese companies completed just $4.8 billion in new business acquisitions and investments in the US, down 84 percent from $29 billion in 2017 and 90 percent from $46 billion in 2016.
“Some deals are still getting done despite new investment screening regulations, trade tensions and Chinese investment controls,” said Michael DeFranco, global head of M&A at Baker McKenzie.
“But all parties in a prospective transaction need to conduct plenty of due diligence and take in-depth regulatory advice to assess if a deal is viable,” he added.
