China

More deals in July and improved offshore financing indicates more outbound activity for the period. Chinese companies may pursue more overseas acquisitions in the H2 amidst a slowing local economy and increasingly low return of assets in China, according to a research by Natixis. Newly announced acquisitions in July indicates that the number of M&A deals by Chinese companies may rise in the second half of the year, in contrast to the trend of decreasing transactions recorded in Q2 and H1, Natixis noted. For example, the automobile company BAIC has just acquired a 5% stake in Daimler, a German automotive corporation. Another reason for the foresight in outbound M&A is the improvement of offshore financing by a dovish FED. Although trade tensions have increased restrictions, dealings with EU stands to have more leeway. EU-27 is still the main target acquisition by China, followed by countries in Asia Pacific and the US. Before Russia topped the value deals of China, EU-27 accounted for about one-third of China’s value deals in cross-border acquisitions in H1, and which largely came from the completed stake purchase in Finland’s Amer Sports. The EU remains to be the most important target of China’s investments in the industrial sector and is also starting to attract Chinese corporates’ attention in the consumer sector. Looking forward, Chinese companies would reportedly prefer to invest in the information and communications technology, as well as the industrial and consumer sectors as these are aligned with the government’s strategic objectives.

Despite scoring $6.1b in funding for its AI startups, Chinese companies may find it hard to capture the Western market. Although investments into China's AI startups dwarf the rest of the world - almost 70% higher than those in the US - a report from LUX research suggests that China has yet to fully cement its status as a global AI leader.

At least 149,000 homes and 1.1 million hectares of cropland were damaged or destroyed.

Load factor of 82.6% was below the global average of 85.7%.

E-commerce platform Alibaba delivered triple-digit growth in revenue.

The country’s productivity growth is expected to face headwinds.

About $3.7b are set to mature for the remainder of the year.

It accounted for 78% of the global capital raised during the period.

Outbound M&A value was down as cross-border deals from Chinese buyers dried up.

Rise in upper-class population, high consumer confidence, and moderate inflation will spur high-ticket car purchases.

Exports to key markets including, ASEAN, UK, EU and South Korea showed positive growth.

The plan by the State Council to cut high-value medical consumables prices deals a heavy blow.

The manufacturing sector and tariffs are expected to drag down real GDP growth to 6.3% in 2019.

Growing intra-regional trade and a rich venture capital market propel the region’s rise.

Only US$12.3b was invested into these regions, the lowest activity level since 2014.

China leads the pack with $145.6b (US$107b) made from 4,281 deals.