China's overseas mergers and acquisitions to welcome second-round boom

Strong economic growth and diversification of companies seeking overseas operations have boosted China's cross-border mergers and acquisitions activity, according to a new report released yesterday by Deloitte, one of the world's big four accounting firms.　　The report shows that in the three quarter of 2009 to 2010 the end of the two quarter, China's overseas mergers and acquisitions in total 143, the total amount of $34.2 billion.　　Shekiron, the head of Deloitte, said the number of Chinese companies ' mergers and acquisitions in the first half of 2010 grew steadily. "The first round of overseas mergers and acquisitions, mainly in the mining and oil fields, is now being replaced by a new wave of mergers and acquisitions, with major targets in agriculture, manufacturing, financial services and the automotive sector." "Geely's acquisition of Volvo is an example," Shekiron said. "The report points out that there are many factors driving overseas mergers and acquisitions activities in China." China needs to buy raw materials and foreign exchange reserves need to diversify. More importantly, Chinese companies want to boost their position in the value chain by acquiring well-known overseas brands and the world's top technology know-how. (Reporter Lishiang Sun yu)