More Experienced Buyers Higher Return Expectations
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More experienced buyers Higher return expectations 2014 Greater China outbound M&A spotlight Chinese Services Group Contents 1 Introduction 3 Executive summary 6 Methodology 7 A year in review 19 Case study: Is the dominance of the United Kingdom as a destination for Chinese outbound investments over its rivals waning? 30 A word from one of Deloitte China's leaders 31 2014 China outbound investment survey 33 Regulations on Chinese capital outflow 35 Deloitte regional insight 35 United States 40 Australia 44 Southeast Asia 49 Africa 53 Latin America & Brazil 56 Central Europe 61 The Middle East 65 Germany 70 Introducing the Deloitte Chinese Services Group (CSG) 71 Expanding around the globe… 72 Deloitte CSG network 73 Acknowledgements 80 Contact details for Deloitte China Practice Introduction The 2014 edition of Deloitte's China outbound conglomerate Sanpower Group announced in April M&A report has arrived and survey results that it would acquire an 89 percent stake in the show that investors continue to have positive British high-street department store House of Fraser expectations for the year ahead. Although it may for US$803 million3. be premature to conclude at this point in time that Conditions in Central Europe, where external trade 2014 would yet be another record-breaking year is heavily dependent on the Euro zone, have been for Chinese outbound investments, the number of improving since mid-2013. Given the relatively completed transactions in the first five months of underdeveloped infrastructure in Central Europe, the year clearly indicates a strong trend for the year. many Chinese firms consider Central Europe as a With a 3 percent GDP growth in the second half of land rich with large scale construction and transport 2013, the U.S. economy has shown signs of steady development opportunities. For instance, earlier improvement which may provide a more positive this year, state-owned China Railway Signal & investment environment for Chinese outbound Communication Corporation announced that it M&A activities in the United States. The average would acquire a majority stake in the Inekon Group, size of Chinese investment in the United States has a Czech tram producer4. also been on the rise, for instance, Lenovo's recent It is estimated that Latin America's GDP would U.S. acquisition (in early 2014) valued at US$2.9 grow by about 2 percent in 2014. Lower billion was the biggest acquisition ever made by a commodity prices and increasing borrowing costs Chinese company in the U.S. Technology sector1. may end a decade-long boom in the region. Pace of economic recovery in the Euro zone Despite its slowing economy, Brazil still boasts one remains weak and asset prices depressed. As a of the largest domestic markets in Latin America result, the Euro zone continues to provide vast that continues to attract Chinese investors. Given opportunities for bargain seekers from China. The the attractive concessions for infrastructure Manufacturing and Technology sectors are the development provided by local governments, primary beneficiaries in the Euro zone of Chinese Latin America may be able to woo more Chinese investments. In the first five months of 2014, firms to invest in local infrastructure projects in the Chinese firms spent more than US$3.4 billion in region. An investment group led by China's State acquisitions in the automotive industry in Western Grid Corporation has just won the right to build Europe of which Germany took the lion share. power lines feeding the Belo Monte Amazon dam Outside the Euro zone, the United Kingdom is in Brazil that is set to be the world’s third-biggest ahead of all the other European countries in hydropower plant5. attracting Chinese FDIs in connection with major As mining activities in Australia become more real estate projects, in particular London. In January significant in terms of its contribution to its GDP, 2014, one of China's property giants Greenland so would the accessory industries that support Group announced two major prestigious residential such activities such as logistics and transport developments in Central London worth US$2 infrastructure. Earlier this year, Baosteel Resources billion2. Australia, a subsidiary of China's Baosteel Group, Other than China's SOEs, privately-owned with Australian-listed haulage company Aurizon enterprises (POEs) in China have taken on Operations acquired the Australian coal and iron an increasingly important role in outbound ore exploration company Aquila Resources for investments. This phenomenon can be seen in the US$1.3 billion6. Consumer Business sector. For instance, Chinese More experienced buyers Higher return expectations 1 Africa, a continent rich with natural resources, China Mobile announced in June that it would is in the sights of many Chinese investors who acquire an 18 percent stake in the Thailand-based are looking for new sources of energy and new telecommunication company True Corporation resources. To foster closer economic relationships for US$881 million8. Earlier this year, Alibaba with Africa, Chinese investors (including the Investment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Chinese government) are eager to invest in Alibaba Group, acquired a 10.36 percent stake Africa's infrastructure projects which would not in Singapore-based logistics and postal service only promote goodwill but also benefit China in provider Singapore Post for US$249 million9. reaching and securing natural resources required. In Despite volatility in the international financial May, China announced that it would provide funds markets, it is apparent that Chinese firms, with for the construction of a railway line linking the more years of experience in investing overseas, Kenyan port city Mombasa to Uganda, Rwanda, are becoming more confident and assertive in Burundi and South Sudan. China Communication outbound M&A, with also a higher expectation Construction Company was selected to be the lead for investment returns. With these heightened contractor for the US$3.8 billion railway project7. expectations, Chinese investors have become According to IMF, Asia is still expected to be the more willing to involve professional advisors growth engine of the global economy in 2014. in their transactions, in particular, post-merger Japan's economy grew at a faster pace in the first integration issue resolution of which is believed to quarter of 2014, which would make 2014 the best be crucial to any successful transaction. Against year for the economy since the stimulus-fuelled this background, it would not be unreasonable to growth begun in 2010. China's economic growth project that the average deal size would likely grow accelerated in the second quarter of 2014 to 7.5 and yet the deal volume of such larger deals may percent according to China's National Bureau grow at a slower clip, reflecting the more judicious of Statistics. Following large investments into investor profile. technology and energy assets, Chinese investors Let us now walk you through the trends in the are starting to target mass market communication regions and sectors that were examined in this sixth businesses such as telecommunications, postal edition of Deloitte's China annual outbound M&A services and logistics in Southeast Asia in 2014. report. Patrick Yip Dennis Chow National Leader Chairman Deloitte China M&A Services Deloitte Global Chinese Services Group 2 Executive summary The 2014 Greater China outbound M&A report Small- and mega-sized deals have grown in covers key trends and significant drivers of numbers outbound M&A and greenfield FDI transactions The number of small-sized M&A deals valued up from Greater China from January 2005 to May to US$50 million grew by 65 percent in the first 2014. The report shows major findings from an five months of 2014 compared with the same online survey conducted in May 2014, which period in 2013. The proportion of mid- and recorded 100 respondents from Chinese SOEs, large-sized M&A deals valued between US$50 POEs, private equities, investment banks and law million and US$1 billion dropped, while the share firms in respect of their views and expectations of mega-deals valued over US$1 billion had of Chinese outbound M&A transactions in 2014. climbed gradually to about 8 percent in mid-2014. The historical data presented in the report was However, when compared with other developed sourced and derived from the independent M&A countries such as the United States or the United intelligence provider Mergermarket and the Kingdom, the total value of Chinese outbound information service provider fDi Markets. The M&A transactions reached only a quarter of that following is a summary of the key findings and of the United States, half of the United Kingdom, results of our survey. and was comparable with Germany and Japan from January 2013 to May 2014, according to data from Mergermarket. 2014 activity Chinese investors made the majority of M&A Chinese outbound investment activity deals in Western Europe while greenfield FDI increases over 2014 in the United States Chinese outbound investors have been active Western Europe was the most attractive market and, in particular, the outbound M&A deal for Chinese outbound M&A investors in the first volume grew in four consecutive quarters since five months of 2014, which attracted the majority the second quarter of 2013. Furthermore, the of Chinese outbound M&A deals (25), followed total transaction value of Chinese outbound M&A by the United States (17) and Australasia (13). investments and greenfield FDI increased by 24 Western Europe also attracted more Chinese M&A percent in the first five months of 2014 when deals in term of value (US$9.7 billion) than the compared with that of 2013. United States (US$6.1 billion). There were 106 Chinese outbound M&A For Chinese greenfield FDI deals, the United transactions with a total value of US$31.7 billion States attracted the majority of deals in the first in the first five months of 2014.