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Measuring Operations Performance
Chinese
Acquisitions
in Developed
Countries
Operational Challenges and
Opportunities
Measuring Operations Performance
Editor-in-chief
Andrea Chiarini, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
Series editors
Alok Choudhary, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
Adrian E. Coronado Mondragon, Royal Holloway, University of London,
Egham, UK
Pauline Found, University of Buckingham, Buckingham, UK
Sergio E. Gouvea da Costa, Pontifical Catholic University of Parana,
Curitiba, Brazil
Iñaki Heras-Saizarbitoria, University of the Basque Country,
Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
Kerry Jacobs, University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia
Adina Claudia Neamtu, Constantin Brâncuși University, Târgu Jiu, Romania
Roberta S. Russell, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,
Blacksburg, USA
Martin Starr, Columbia Business School, New York, USA
Emidia Vagnoni, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
Alessandra Vecchi, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Jahangir Yadollahi Farsi, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/13500
Alessandra Vecchi
Editor
Chinese Acquisitions
in Developed Countries
Operational Challenges and Opportunities
123
Editor
Alessandra Vecchi
Department of Management
University of Bologna
Bologna, Italy
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Contents
v
The Rise of Chinese Multinationals:
The Changing Landscape of Global
Competition
Abstract The past fifteen years have seen a major breakthrough for Chinese
Multinationals. Today, a fifth of the Fortune Global 500 companies are from China.
Their rise is reminiscent of the emergence of U.S. companies post-World War II.
Today, Chinese companies account for more than half of the top five firms across
the Banking, Automobile, Crude Oil Production, Engineering and Construction,
Logistics, Metals, Mining, Petroleum Refining and Telecom sectors. Yet, their
behavior differs from that of traditional multinationals. While for American com-
panies the priority has been the optimization of shareholder-value, Chinese com-
panies have prioritized growth over profits. This expansion has moved beyond
natural markets to advanced economies, particularly in service-based,
consumer-related or other “new” industries such as renewable energies. Likewise,
the increased involvement in global Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) is one
illustration of this ascent. The competitive advantages are diverse. First, Chinese
MNCs have lower production costs compared to their counterparts in advanced
economies. Second, they follow a strategy in which revenues are maximized at the
expense of gross margins. Third, since a majority of customers in China still yield
low purchasing power, Chinese companies are prone to design products/services in
more cost-effective ways.
This chapter is based on the Emerging Markets Institute Report 2017. Casanova, L.; Miroux,
A. 2017. Emerging Market Multinationals Report: Emerging Multinationals in a Changing
World. Emerging Markets Institute in collaboration with the OECD development Center. SC
Johnson School of Management. Cornell University. http://bit.ly/eMNCreport. The contribution
of Abdel Bouhamidi, Research Assistant is gratefully acknowledged as well as the editors:
Eudes Lopes and Jennifer Wholey Lehmann.
Keywords Chinese multinationals Emerging multinationals (eMNCs)
State owned enterprises (SOEs) Natural markets Mergers and acquisitions
Internationalization
1 Introduction
Chinese multinationals are making their presence felt, not merely in numbers, but
also in scale and scope. Their increased power has enabled their greater involve-
ment in global mergers and acquisitions and propelled them to the highest levels of
competition among leading global brands. Chinese MNCs operate with a different
philosophy than Western multinationals, who have traditionally focused on maxi-
mizing profits and value for shareholders. They have easier access to key resources
such as labor, and due to differences in cost structures, they may not need to
optimize profits or productivity per employee relative to U.S. or European com-
panies. SOEs are still prevalent in emerging markets (though their numbers are
decreasing), and for those companies, profits are not necessarily as important as for
private and public companies. In what follows, we examine the potentials and
ongoing constraints that befall the market landscape in China.
China’s presence among the Fortune Global 500 surged since 2005 and accelerated
since 2008. It is now almost converging with the U.S. The country’s increasing
prominence in this ranking is noteworthy in the years analyzed, China was the only
emerging market country that increased its number of companies in the Global 500:
from 98 in 2015, to 103 in 2016 and 108 in 2017 (see Fig. 1). Meanwhile, all
other emerging markets either observed no change or faced a decline during this
period.
As shown in Fig. 2, while the top-ranked 108 companies from China have more
or equivalent assets and labor on the payroll than those from the U.S., they continue
to generate less revenue and approximately half the profit of their U.S. counterparts.
As Fig. 2 demonstrates, Chinese companies’ profit margins are lower than those of
U.S. firms; their return on assets1 (profit to asset ratio) is also lower than that of U.S.
firms (1.2% vs. 2.2%). The same gap exists in return on employment (1.6% for
Chinese firms versus 3.8% for U.S. firms).
1
Return on Assets indicates how profitable a company is relative to its total assets. ROA gives an
idea as to how efficient management is at using its assets to generate earnings.
The Rise of Chinese Multinationals … 3
Fig. 1 Growth in representation on Global Fortune 500 (2005–17). Source Authors’ analysis
based on Fortune Global 500 data 2017, accessed August 2017
Fig. 2 Comparison of Chinese (including Hong Kong) and U.S. companies along four variables:
aggregated revenues, profits, labor and assets (Fortune Global 500 2017). Source Authors’ analysis
based on Fortune Global 500 data 2016, accessed August 2017
We next compare firms’ efficiency and operations across sectors, using margins and
return indicators. In Fig. 3, we compare profit margins between the U.S. and China,
the two countries with the most firms in the Fortune Global 500. Our analysis
4 L. Casanova and A. Miroux
20.00%
(25) (14)
14.20% 14.99%
15.00% (28)
10.72% (133)
10.00% (8)
7.52% (108)
7.06%
5.23%
5.00% (13) (22)
2.02% 1.34%
0.00%
Energy (35) Financials (53) Technology (22) All companies (500)
United States China
*Industries selecƟon criteria: More than 25 companies per industry and more than 10 companies
by industry for each group (either G-7 or E20).
Number of companies in parenthesis.
Fig. 3 Gross profit margin of companies from China versus U.S. in selected industries* (Fortune
Global 500 2017). Source Authors’ analysis based on data from S&P Capital IQ—Fortune Global
500 Financials accessed by August 2017
10.00% (14)
9.26% (8)
6.77%
5.00% (133)
(13) (25) (108)
(22) (28) 2.24%
1.13% 1.13% 1.19%
0.72% 0.86%
0.00%
Energy (35) Financials (53) Technology (22) All companies (500)
United States China
*Industries selecƟon criteria: More than 25 companies per industry and more than 10 companies
by industry in each group (either G-7 or E20).
Number of companies in parenthesis.
Fig. 4 ROA of companies from China and U.S. in selected industries* (Fortune Global 500
2017). Source Authors’ analysis based in data from S&P Capital IQ—Fortune Global 500
Financials accessed by August 2017
shows that the gap in the Technology industry between these two countries is quite
wide. While the U.S. has better profit margins than the G-7s average in all the
selected industries, this is not the case for China.
There is a significant difference between the ROA of U.S. and Chinese firms in
the Fortune Global 500 (Fig. 4): at 1.19%, the average Chinese firm ROA is about
half that of a U.S. firm (2.24%). The difference is particularly marked in
Technology. As in the case of profit margins, the U.S. stands out in its group, doing
better than the G-7 average.
The Rise of Chinese Multinationals … 5
2
Chinese stocks rallied to a new high in the following China’s inclusion in the MSCI index in June
2017. It remains to be seen if the rally will continue. Source; https://www.ft.com/content/
f648b8f6-550f-11e7-80b6-9bfa4c1f83d2, accessed August 2017.
6 L. Casanova and A. Miroux
$12,000 140
Number of Publicly
traded Companies
$10,000 120
US$ Billions
$8,000 100
80
$6,000
60
$4,000 40
$2,000 20
$- 0
Fig. 5 Total market capitalization by country for publicly traded companies, Fortune Global 500.
Source Authors’ analysis based on data from S&P Capital IQ—Fortune Global 500 Financials,
accessed in July 2017 (latest data available)
$120
US$ Billions
$100
$80
$60
$40
$20
$-
Fig. 6 Average total enterprise value (Total enterprise value (TEV) is a used to compare
companies with varying levels of debt. TEV = Market capitalization + interest bearing debt +
preferred stock − excess cash.) and market capitalization by country according to companies in
Global Fortune 500. Source Authors’ analysis based in data from S&P Capital IQ—Fortune
Global 500 2017 Financials accessed by August 2017
3
TEV = Market Capitalization + Interest Bearing Debt + Preferred Stock − Excess Cash. TEV is
useful to compare companies with different capital structures (for instance with different levels of
debt) since the firm’s value is unaffected by its choice of capital structure.
The Rise of Chinese Multinationals … 7
186% 172%
121%
105% 107% 97%
87% 84%
41.8% 55.0% 41.6% 46.5% 52.1% 54% 47.4%
38.3% 41.2% 30.2%
10% 9.2%
United United France Switzerland Germany China Brazil Korea India Russia
States Kingdom
% Debt/Equity % Debt/Capital
Fig. 7 Capital structure analysis by country for non-financial companies in the 2016 Fortune
Global 500 (Note Excludes financial services companies). Source Authors’ analysis based on data
from S&P Capital IQ—Fortune Global 500 Financials 2016, accessed by July 2017
52.10%
Fig. 8 Lending interest rate* (%) from selected economies with 2016 data from the World Bank.
Source Authors’ analysis based in data from World Bank (International Monetary Fund,
International Financial Statistics and data files). Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/
FR.INR.LEND, accessed in July 2017
4
See https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-02/china-inc-has-1-trillion-in-cash-that-
it-s-too-scared-to-spend, August 2, 2016.
8 L. Casanova and A. Miroux
comparatively quite low.) China is a notable exception: the low level of interest
rates supports high debt-to-equity ratios. In addition, a number of the largest
Chinese firms are SOEs, which do not rely on stock market financing.
In this section, we compare prices of Chinese products and services those from
America and Japan, accounting for diverse price policies in different countries and
market segments.
Our selection is based on:
(1) Comparable characteristics and functionalities;
(2) Company origin;
(3) High volume of sales,
(4) E-commerce availability;
(5) Availability to U.S. consumers;
(6) Products or services in which companies from E20 and G7 countries compete.
We restrict the analysis to the following product categories:
(1) Technology products: laptops, desktops, tablets and mobile phones;
(2) White goods: fridges, air conditioners and televisions;
(3) Cars;
(4) Apparel: sports shoes;
(5) And airline tickets.
Figure 9 charts list prices for five laptop brands sold on Amazon, the U.S.
e-commerce retailer. We define characteristics that a laptop should possess based on
different uses: home, work, travel, and gaming. Within each category, we analyzed
Amazon’s recommendations. The prices listed refer to the average cost for a laptop
in each category for the selected brands. We observe that Apple is consistently the
most expensive option in each category. In the gaming and work laptop product
category, the price differences are much narrower (excluding Apple).
In Fig. 10, we compare desktop computer prices using the same method as in
Fig. 9. In this figure, we observe a similar trend: Apple is the most expensive in
every category, followed by Dell, which Chinese brands now closely tracking
Dell’s prices. In such a fiercely competitive environment, one could envision Dell
struggling to maintain its edge.
Figures 11 and 12 show each brand’s prices for their latest versions of smart
phones and tablets. Again, the most expensive brand analyzed is Apple, but
competitor brands show remarkable differences. While Apple has continued to
5
This research was carried out in July and August 2017.
The Rise of Chinese Multinationals … 9
3,000
2,399
2,500
1,758
Price ($)
2,000
1,199 1,375
1,500 1,050 1,024 1,000
909
1,000 580 499 499 488 699 699 580 550 724
500 350
280
500
0
Dell
Dell
Dell
Dell
Acer
Lenovo
Acer
Lenovo
Acer
Lenovo
Lenovo
Acer
Asus
Asus
Asus
Asus
MacBook
MacBook
MacBook
MacBook
Brand
Fig. 9 Laptop prices for top U.S. and Chinese brands (July 2017). Source Authors’ analysis based
on Amazon U.S., www.amazon.com accessed July 2017
4,000 3,449
3,000
Price ($)
Acer
Acer
Dell
Dell
Dell
Lenovo
Asus
Asus
Lenovo
Asus
Lenovo
MacBook
MacBook
MacBook
Brand
Fig. 10 Desktop prices for top U.S. and Chinese brands (July 2017)
1,800 1,699
1,563
1,600
1,400
1,200 1,049
Price ($)
1,000 814
800 659 640
558 599 560 499
600
400 308
180
200
0
Apple Huawei Samsung Oppo R9s Xiaomi Mi Asus
iPhone Galaxy
Phone
Brand
Fig. 11 Prices of cheapest and most expensive mobile phones by brand for top U.S. and Chinese
brands (July 2017). Source Authors’ analysis based on Amazon U.S., www.amazon.com accessed
July 2017
10 L. Casanova and A. Miroux
1,400 1,305
1,200
1,000
776
Price ($)
750
800
0
Apple iPad Huawei Pad Samsung Galaxy Xiaomi Mi Pad
Tab
Brand
Fig. 12 Prices for cheapest and most expensive tablets for top U.S. and Chinese brands (July
2017). Source Authors’ analysis based on Amazon U.S., www.amazon.com accessed in July 2017
boast the highest profits and valuations in the stock market, Huawei (see Box) has
the second highest average price. In China, the Huawei phone is the bestseller rather
than Apple.
Our analyses demonstrate:
– A narrower price difference among smart phones than tablets. Huawei’s prices
may even soon converge with Apple for the most expensive phone. The gap
between the two companies is small, indicating that Huawei is poised to position
itself also higher in the market.
– Smartphone companies are split into two segments: those that are price com-
petitive (e.g., Oppo, Xiaomi, Asus, etc.) and those are quality competitive (e.g.,
Apple, Huawei).
Chinese smart phones (e.g., OnePlus, Meizu, or Asus) are entering other
emerging markets, as well as Europe and the U.S. A new business model now
drives the typically low prices of Chinese phones: all Android manufacturers source
most phone components from China and assemble their phones in the country as
well. Chinese smart phone companies reinforce this low-cost model with a price
strategy similar to that of G-7 economies. Chinese customers are less willing than
U.S. customers to pay more for a similar product based on brand. American cus-
tomers’ are often more willing to pay higher prices because of their higher pur-
chasing power, brand recognition and loyalty.
In Fig. 13, we examine price differentials among white goods from Chinese and
American companies. The line shows the average price of each brand. The price of
a Chinese brand refrigerator is lower than the average, and much lower than that of
American brand refrigerator. As for televisions and air conditioners, Chinese
products are in some cases more expensive than those from Japanese or American
companies. This indicates that Chinese firms are not limiting themselves to the
Compact Refrigerators (2.7 - 3.3 ft³) Air Conditioners (300 - 400 ft² room)
344
400 296 500 399
349 Average
167 143 Average 375 281 263 243 262
200 99 99 79 175 229
250
Price ($)
Price ($)
0 125
Summit General Garrison Midea Haier Arctic King Hisense 0
Electric Frigidaire Honeywell RCA Arctic King Haier Midea
US China US China
The Rise of Chinese Multinationals …
Brand Brand
2,250 1,989
1,661 Televisions Overall Average
1,573
1,500 1,077
916 1,026
741 800 753 673 635
750
Price ($)
0
LG Samsung Sony Sharp Hitachi TCL LeEco Hisense Vizio Sceptre
Korea Japan China US
Brand
Fig. 13 Prices for white goods by top U.S. and Chinese brands. Source Authors’ analysis based on Wal-Mart U.S.A, https://www.walmart.com/ accessed
August 2017
11
12
Fig. 14 Prices for various cars by top U.S. and E20 brands (Note Blue for American Brands, Lighter Blue for Japanese and Yellow for Korean). Source
Authors’ analysis based on https://www.edmunds.com/ accessed July 2017
L. Casanova and A. Miroux
The Rise of Chinese Multinationals … 13
250 230
200 Nike Li Ning
Price ($)
160
150 130
85 80 80 90
100 60 60 55 55
70
40 50 40
50 30 20 28 20 22 20 30 22 20
15 16 13 20
0
Fig. 15 Comparison of prices for sports merchandise between the leading Chinese and American
brand. Source Authors’ analysis based on http://www.nike.com/ and http://www.lining.com/.
Accessed August 2017
lower end of the market. In addition, American companies are now competing on
price with their Japanese and Chinese counterparts.
Figure 14 illustrates a price analysis for cars. Chevrolet, and other American
brands, are similarly priced or lower priced relative to Japanese brands. The
Chinese automotive industry holds a modest presence in G-7 countries. We believe
that the competitive landscape will change as the industry moves towards electric
and self-driving vehicles China is moving ambitiously to the forefront with com-
panies like LeEco or NIO, which may become formidable global competitors.
As discussed, Chinese multinationals compete mainly on price. Figure 15
compares sports merchandise prices between a major Chinese company, Li Ning,
and Nike. Li Ning is cheaper than Nike in every category. In fact, Nike’s prices are
two to seven times higher than Li Ning’s.
Lastly, we look at airline ticket prices, comparing U.S. and Chinese carriers.
Figure 16 demonstrates that Chinese airlines charge lower prices relative to
$7,580
$8,000
$7,000
$6,000
$5,000
$4,000 $3,241
$3,000
$2,000
$553 $852 $734
$1,000 $429
$-
NYC -> Beijing Los Angeles -> Hong Kong NYC -> Beijing
Fig. 16 Airfare comparison of one-way prices non-stop between Chinese airlines and American
carriers. Source Authors’ analysis based on https://www.expedia.com/, accessed in August 2017
14 L. Casanova and A. Miroux
We turn to the top firms represented in two global listings: Brandirectory’s 500
most valuable brands and the BrandZ’s top 100 ranking. Brandirectory rates
companies based on perceived brand value—i.e., whether a company’s brand
recognition affects the prices it can charge for a product or service. American
companies with excellent brand recognition include Coca-Cola, Google, Facebook,
and Apple, for example. G-7 economies have successfully used brand value as a
strategy to compete by differentiation.
While we observe that the number of Chinese companies in the Fortune list is
closing in on the number of U.S. companies, Chinese firms have much work to do
to close the gap with U.S. companies in brand equity and recognition (see Fig. 17).
American companies’ competitive edge is not just in branding; their success also
suggests competitiveness in differentiation. Chinese firms have not yet reached the
same level of differentiation as American companies, though they have narrowed
the gap in revenues and size. On the other hand, Chinese companies tend to be
younger than their American counterparts; global competition is relatively new
foray for them. There are, however, some exceptions. Small numbers of Chinese
companies have made great strides in their brand value.
However, there is a growing trend that suggests Chinese and other E20 brands
will climb these rankings soon enough. Additional analysis is required to determine
how emerging market companies are making efforts to expand their brands inter-
nationally. With growing interest, we look to three Chinese companies which are
collectively referred to as “BAT”: Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent. Much like
American powerhouses Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple, each member of
this Chinese trio is gaining recognition as tech leaders in China and abroad.
As shown in Fig. 18, nearly all of the top 10 brands were from G-7 countries
between 2009 and 2017. During this time, the top 10 brands from emerging countries
all showed improvement but are still a far cry from reaching G-7 brand recognition.
That being said, several Chinese companies such as ICBC, China Mobile and China
Construction Bank hold places in the top 15 best ranked brands in the world.
In Fig. 19, we observe that all of China’s Top 10 brands are also in the Top 50
positions of BrandZ; in 2009, China only had four brands represented. While G-7
China G7 Others
6 10 11 14 1 9
23 29 18
32 33 34 2
43 44 40 25
57 3 34
4 43
91 5 54
101 61 63 60 62
6 65 67
121 7 7 81 85
8 8 90 87
151
9
171
181 10
11 124 125
215 12 140
13 150
Fig. 18 Top 10 Chinese brands in China versus G-7 and other global brands, 2009–2017. Source
Authors’ analysis based on Fortune Global 500 2017: BrandZ, Brandirectory www.brandirectory.
com/league_tables/table/global-500-2017, accessed September 2017
Fig. 19 Top 10 brands for China, 2017. Source Authors’ analysis based on Fortune Global 500
2017: BrandZ, Brandirectory www.brandirectory.com/league_tables/table/global-500-2017,
accessed September 2017
16 L. Casanova and A. Miroux
countries like America and Japan continue to lead the pack, E20 companies have
made significant, noticeable progress in global brand recognition.
4 Conclusion
The last two decades have witnessed a dramatic rise in the global presence of
Chinese multinationals. The global dominance of Chinese multinationals is sup-
ported by their increased presence in the Global Fortune 500 and by the fact that
more than half of top five firms across a number of key sectors such as Banking,
Automobile and Engineering and Construction are Chinese.
As our analyses show, the pattern of Chinese companies existing only as
low-cost competitors is changing. The price differential is shrinking between those
of Chinese firms and its G-7 counterparts, and may soon converge in some con-
sumer markets. Chinese companies are putting greater emphasis on branding, with
Lenovo in laptops and Huawei in smart phones leading the way. Meanwhile,
China’s long-held cheap labor advantage is slowly eroding. Apple, the world
profit-leader, with high valuations based on brand value, may soon see the con-
sequences of this transition.
The landscape of global competition is changing. The dominance of Chinese
multinationals can be expected to increase and the competitive basis will continue
to shift to an increased focus on branding, technological innovation and quality.
Collaborating and competing effectively with these new global players—Chinese
multinationals—will become an important factor in the success of every multina-
tional that wishes to succeed globally.
References
1 Introduction
Chinese direct investments have become the subject of growing media and political
attention, as increasingly internationally minded Chinese companies have carried
out a campaign of outbound M&A, followed by green field investment across the
world. However, this shopping spree is not quite what it appears, having contrasted
results in relation to the target countries of acquisitions. While the bulk of Chinese
acquisitions abroad are taking place in emerging Asian markets, the Chinese cross
border M&A deals which mostly attract the attention of the media are those carried
out in the western world.
The rise of Chinese FDI has been increasingly investigated with a focus on
motivation, determinants and strategy (e.g. Deng 2004, 2007, 2009; Buckley et al.
2007; Morck et al. 2008; Yamakawa et al. 2008). Zhang and Ebbers (2010) pro-
vided an overview of China’s overseas acquisition investigating about the reasons
why—according to the evidence they were able to collect—about half of China’s
overseas acquisition attempts have not been completed.
This chapter focuses particularly on Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs)
acquisitions of companies in advanced countries (North America, Western Europe,
Oceania) in the period 2009–2017, the years after the last financial crisis. It pro-
vides an updated analysis of the Chinese SOEs M&A aiming at analyzing their
entry mode and the industries they have targeted. The chapter contributes to the
growing literature about Chinese cross borders M&A and shed lights on SOEs
activism in the market for corporate acquisition describing their behavior and
dispelling their rationalities and strategic motivation.
Since 1978, when economic reform started, China has integrated into the world
economy very quickly. It emerged in the world market first as an exporter and
foreign direct investment (FDI) recipient, then as an investor as well. Figure 1 show
the growing trend of Chinese FDI on the total global stock of FDI. Although
China’s FDI flows as a proportion of global flows have experienced some volatility,
in recent years they have stayed at above 5% trailing only the US and UK.1 In 2016
reached 5.1%, behind the US and Hong Kong.
Companies form emerging market economies are increasingly involved in cross
border mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The global market for corporate control is
not changing only the geography of the operations, but also the type of actors
involved. For the first, the direction of investment is turning around, with an
increasing number of acquisitions by emerging markets companies into developed
countries counterpoising the other way around. For the second, many emerging
countries are not equal to free market economies as in most of the western coun-
tries; thus, a relevant number of M&A operations on the axis emerging
markets-to-developed countries witnesses the involvement of non-private firms,
being either state-owned enterprises (SOEs) or Sovereign Funds.
1
According to data from UNCTAD. See: UNCTADstat, http://unctadstat.unctad.org/EN/Index.
html.
Chinese State-Owned Enterprises in the Market … 19
14
12
10
0
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Fig. 1 China’s FDI as a proportion of global FDI. Source Authors’ elaboration from
UNCTAD FDI statistics
This is certainly the case of China too. In 1982 China made its first overseas
acquisition. However, its presence in the world merger and acquisition market was
almost irrelevant—with only a couple of acquisitions recorded each year—until
1992, when Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping visited South China and called for the
opening-up of the Chinese economy to be accelerated.
According to UNCTAD (2005, 2008), between 2004 and 2007 the value of
China’s overseas merger and acquisitions grew more than ten times (from 1.1 to
15.5 billion US$). Providing credit and loan support for overseas projects the
Chinese government strongly supported SOEs and made possible such a growth to
take place. Thus, SOEs’ overseas M&A became an important way of FDI entry to
the outside world (Global M&A Research Center 2007).
According to McKinsey & Company (2017) from 2011 to 2016 outbound M&A
volume has risen by 33% per year. In 2016, Chinese companies spent 227 billion
US$, six times what foreign companies spent acquiring Chinese firms. And Chinese
companies were involved in ten of the largest deals worldwide in 2016 and many of
them refer directly to the state, or to a local government. In both cases, these
companies are controlled by a public authority.
As China’s own domestic industry is undergoing sustained upgrade and trans-
formation following the 18th CPC National Congress, where technological and
business model innovation was elevated to the core of China’s development
strategy, Chinese companies are beginning to make more rational assessments of
their overseas investments which determines a major impact on the main sectors
and regions where Chinese companies have been making overseas investments. It
implies the increase of bids for high-quality international assets in western
economies.
20 A. Baroncelli and M. Landoni
Since 2012, the Chinese Government has introduced policies2 aiming at facili-
tating the country’s industrial upgrading, improving its indigenous innovation
capabilities and increasing the quality of consumption. These policies also implied a
tighter guide on companies’ outbound investments.
SOEs have been the main instrument for implementing these policies aimed at
investing in innovative companies at international level and in particular in Western
countries. Chinese public investments have also been used to establish R&D centres
and business incubators in foreign markets, useful for starting relations with
international researchers and organizations involved in innovation projects which
are consistent with the guidelines for the development of the country.
Chinese companies have been increasingly oriented at acquiring high-quality
assets that allow them to achieve critical breakthroughs in technology and to reach
levels of excellence in industries the Chinese Government considers to be strategic
to the development of the country.
Overall, such a transformation of Chinese companies driven by overseas M&A
allows also to improve the supply of quality products and services in the domestic
market and move further up the industrial value chain.
The 2007–2008 financial crisis determined two consequences: on the Western
markets it multiplied the opportunities for foreign M&As since a large number of
firms had a financial distress, in China more companies and individuals started
looking at international targets for M&A in search of assets that could deliver
higher returns than those available in the domestic market. The real estate, and
cultural, sports and entertainment sectors were those who attracted increasing
Chinese overseas investments (KPMG 2018). The total amount of China outbound
acquisitions grew dramatically, from 49 billion US$ in 2010 to 227 billion US$ in
2016. However, in absolute terms this level still remains very low in relationship to
the size of the Chinese economy and compared to other major economies.
According to McKinsey & Company (2017), Chinese companies spent around
0.9% of GDP on outbound acquisitions in 2015; EU companies spent 2.0%, and US
companies 1.3%, investing 2.4 and 3.2 times the dollar amount Chinese companies
spent respectively.
Consequently, we expect that Chinese companies will in time remain an
important part of global cross-border M&A, and that means levels of activity
substantially higher than what we have seen to date. According to EIU and IMF
(EIU 2017) China’s overseas direct investments (ODI) flows (on a
balance-of-payments basis) will return to growth in 2018 and in the years to go. The
estimates indicate a sharp rise in both the flow and the stock of Chinese ODIs
compared to the GDP (from around 130 billion US$ and 6% of GDP in 2018 to
over 250 billion US$ and 14% of GDP in 2021), and then a slight decline in 2022
(to around 210 billion US$ and 14% of GDP) (EIU 2017).
2
Please, refer to Appendix for further details on the “Going Out policy” introduced by the Chinese
central government to encourage domestic companies to go abroad to make investments, utilize
foreign reserves, establish consumer bases, as well as enhance China’s international political and
economic influence—much of which had to be accomplished through M&A.
Chinese State-Owned Enterprises in the Market … 21
3
The measures, known as “NDRC 11” build on prior ODI management rules published by the
National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in 2014.
22 A. Baroncelli and M. Landoni
300
France Germany Italy United Kingdom
250
200
150
100
50
-50
-100
2009 2010 2011 2012
Fig. 2 Chinese FDI into EU. Source Authors’ elaboration from Eurostat data
The surge in China’s investment (see Fig. 2), and the shift in its targets, was seen
as a serious challenge by most Western economies who tightened their
investment-screening rules. The US seems a particularly unwelcome place for
Chinese M&As.
Two years after it was proposed, the top U.S. financial regulator blocked the
takeover of the “venerable” Chicago Stock Exchange by Chongqing Casin
Enterprise Group, a Chinese-led investors consortium. The 136-year-old exchange
(known as the CHX) is not one of America’s biggest exchanges—it handles about
1% of U.S. trades—but it is one of its oldest. If the deal had gone through, it would
have marked the first takeover of a U.S. exchange by Chinese interests. Casin had
the goal of listing Chinese companies in the U.S., and the CHX would have
provided a route for doing this when the relevant firms did not meet the standards of
the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange.
Initially, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)
cleared the takeover indicating that it presented no national security concerns.
However, in Feb. 2018 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (2018) said
on Thursday that it could not go through as it did not comply with rules on
ownership and voting limitations.
Overall, there has been an increase in reviews by the Committee on Foreign
Investment in the US (CFIUS), which examines takeovers in America for security
threats, but it has been proportionally smaller than the increase in Chinese
investments.
Chinese State-Owned Enterprises in the Market … 23
3 Literature Analysis
Despite being a neglected argument in the M&A literature for a long time (Lebedev
et al. 2015, p. 660), the activism of SOEs in the M&A market has very recently
become a rising topic in scholars’ articles (Lebedev et al. 2015; Karolyi and Liao
2016; Clò et al. 2016; Bacchiocchi et al. 2017; Del Bo et al. 2017; Chen and Young
2010; Wu and Xie 2010; Xie et al. 2017; Reddy et al. 2016).
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CHAPTER VIII.
THE SHIP.
I
t was wonderful how many sea creatures Peggy and Janet found
when they began. The little tub was quite full before long, and
Peggy, looking into it, told Janet that she was afraid they wouldn’t
be very comfortable.
Janet considered for a minute, and then told Peggy that there
was an old washing-tub in the scullery which she was sure her aunt
would let her use instead of her own little one; then there would be
room enough for all the creatures to be happy.
“But how would we ever get a washing-tub filled with water out of
the sea?” Peggy asked.
“Hoots! James and me can
carry it up in pails,” said Janet.
“Will you ask Aunt
Euphemia about it?” Peggy
asked. She had begun to see
that Janet could get anything
she wanted. Janet said that she
would, and went off to gain Aunt
Euphemia’s consent to the
scheme. She came back
smiling, and Peggy knew all
was right, so she clapped her
hands with delight.
“O Janet, do you think James will get the water to-night?” she
cried. “For it would be horrid if my poor beasts died, or were sick for
want of it.”
Janet then went off to look for James, and before long Peggy had
the joy of seeing him come toiling up the walk, carrying two huge
pails of water. Then Janet went down to the sea again with two pails,
and brought them back filled, and James brought two more, and
when they had all been poured into the tub it was quite full.
“Now I can put in my beasts!” Peggy cried.
The first of all was a great prize: it was a bit of
stone with two sea anemones attached to it. Sea
anemones are the creatures that Peggy had
seen in the pool that were like little pink flowers.
Janet had explained to her that it hurt anemones
to be scraped off the rocks, and so they had to
hunt till they found them growing on a small
stone that it was possible to lift. It had been some time before they
found this, but at last, at the bottom of a pool, Janet spied a small
stone with two beautiful anemones sticking to it. Whenever she lifted
the stone out of the water, the funny little creatures drew in all their
pretty petal-like feelers, and became like lumps of red-currant jelly;
but the moment Peggy placed them in the tub of water, out came the
feelers one by one till they were as pretty as ever again.
Then there was one of the big ones that had been scooped out of
the sand with great difficulty, and was rather offended evidently, for it
took a long time to put out its feelers—just lay and sulked on the
bottom of the tub. Peggy watched it for a long time, but as it wouldn’t
put out its feelers, she turned to the other creatures.
There were a number of whelks. Whelks, you
know, are sea-snails. They live in shells, and
draw themselves in and out of them very quickly.
The moment Peggy put them into the tub, they
pushed their shells on to their backs as snails do,
and began crawling slowly along the edges of the
tub.
“O Janet, my whelks will walk out and get lost!” Peggy cried. But
Janet told her she thought they liked the water best, and would stay
in it.
Then there were three mussels. Mussels live in tight, dark blue
shells; but when they please they can open their shells, much as you
open a portfolio, for there is a kind of hinge at the
back of the shell. However, they too were sulky,
and lay still quite tight shut.
Janet had picked up a very large shell, and
put it into the tub, and Peggy asked her why. She
said they would see before long. Now she took the large shell and
laid it in the water. Peggy watched, and suddenly she saw a thin
green leg come stealing out; then another and another, till at last a
tiny green crab came scrambling altogether out of the shell, and ran
rapidly about the tub.
“O Janet, it’s a little crab! How did you know? Do they always live
in these big snail shells?” Peggy cried.
Janet told her that they were called hermit crabs, and that they
lived in the cast-off shells of other creatures, just using them as
houses.
“Put your hand into the water, Miss Peggy, and you will see him
run in,” Janet said.
Peggy shook her hand in the water, and saw the little crab scuttle
away and get into his shell like lightning.
Janet had wanted to add a big red crab, like the one that nipped
Peggy, but Peggy wouldn’t have it. There were some limpets, in their
little pyramid-shaped shells, and then Janet had added a lot of
seaweed of different kinds. Some of it was slimy green stuff, like long
green hair, which Peggy didn’t at all admire; but there were pretty
feathery pink weed and nice brown dulse.
“I wonder if James could get a flounder,” Janet said thoughtfully.
Peggy asked what a flounder was, and Janet said it was the kind
of flat little fish Peggy had had fried for breakfast that morning.
“They’re ill to catch,” she added. “But maybe James could get ye
ane.”
“Oh, a fish—a real live fish—in my tub would be so delicious!”
cried Peggy.
She ran off to beg James to try to
catch one for her; and James, who
was very obliging, went off once again
to the shore with a pail in search of a
flounder.
Peggy stood and watched him for
quite half an hour as he went slowly
across the sands, stooping over each
pool to see if there were flounders in it.
At last he came back, and Peggy
scarcely liked to ask him whether he
had got one, for she felt it would be so
disappointing if he hadn’t—her
collection would be quite incomplete.
But James was grinning with pleasure,
and he showed her two nice brown
flounders in the pail.
“Oh, they are flat!” cried Peggy.
She dived her hands into the pail, and attempted to catch them—
quite in vain. Then James slowly poured away all the water on to the
ground, and there the flounders lay, flopping about at the bottom of
the pail. Peggy was almost afraid to touch them, but James said they
would do her no harm; so she caught hold of one of the slippery,
wriggling little fish, and flung it into the tub, and it darted off and hid
itself under the seaweed. Then she put in the other flounder, and it
also hid under the seaweed, where it couldn’t be seen.
“I think they must be sleepy, and be going to bed,” Peggy said.
And then, quite tired out with her exertions, she rubbed her eyes and
yawned, till Janet told her it was time for her to go to bed like the
flounders; and Peggy agreed that it was.
CHAPTER XI.
THE LAST DAY AT SEAFIELD.
N
ow, if Peggy had taken time to think about it, she was only
going to make herself unhappy by collecting all these
delightful creatures in the tub; for her visit to Seafield was to
come to an end on Wednesday, and this was Monday
evening. The whole of Tuesday morning Peggy thought of nothing
but her dear sea beasts. She stood beside the tub and watched
them; she crumbled a bit of bread very fine, and flung it into the
water, and actually saw one of the flounders eat a crumb; she
chased the hermit crab into its shell a dozen times, and watched the
whelks move slowly along the side of the tub. It was the nicest
amusement she had ever had. But in the afternoon Aunt Euphemia
said that they were going to drive to the station.
“Your father is coming for you, Peggy, you know; he is going to
take you home to-morrow.”
Peggy was very fond of her father—so fond that she had cried
when she said good-bye to him last week. It surprised Aunt
Euphemia extremely that, instead of being glad to hear of his
coming, Peggy seemed sorry, for she burst into tears.
“Why, Peggy, are you not glad to see your father?” said Aunt
Euphemia.
“I don’t want to go home!” Peggy sobbed.
Aunt Euphemia was rather pleased. “Do you want to stay with me
then, dear?” she asked.
“No; it’s my sea beasts. Oh, oh, oh!” sobbed Peggy. “Do you think
father will take the tub of sea beasts back in the train with us?”
No wonder Aunt Euphemia was hurt. It was nasty of Peggy to say
that she only wanted to stay because of the sea beasts.
“Of course, he will do nothing of the kind,” said Aunt Euphemia.
“All the beasts must be put back into the sea to-night.”
She walked away and left Peggy to cry alone. But after she had
cried for some time, Peggy remembered that father was different
from Aunt Euphemia, and perhaps would not distress her by making
her part from the dear sea beasts. So she dried her eyes, and
thought perhaps it was as well that he was coming.
The drive to the station was quite dull. Nothing happened, for
Peggy wasn’t allowed to sit on the box-seat with the driver as she
wanted to, but had to sit beside her aunt in the carriage. At the
station, too, there was very little to notice—only some sheep in a
truck, looking very unhappy. Peggy gathered some blades of grass,
and held them to the sheep, and they nibbled them up. Then the
train came puffing in, and the next minute she saw her father jump
out of a carriage, and come along the platform to where she was.
Peggy was so delighted to see him that she ran right at him, and
caught hold of his knees so that she nearly made him fall. Then she
took his hand, and began telling him everything at once, in such a
hurry that it was impossible for him to understand anything she said.
“Not so fast, Peggy. Wait till we are in the carriage,” he said,
laughing.
It seemed a very long time till they were all packed in, and then
Peggy had to climb on to her father’s knee and put her arm round his
neck. “Now may I begin?” she asked.
“Yes, sweetest; tell me all about everything now,” her father said.
And Peggy began her story, of course, at the wrong end.
“I’ve got a tub full of such dear sea beasts, father,” she said.
“There are two flounders, and a lot of whelks, and a hermit crab, and
two anemones fixed on a stone, and a big one stuck on to the foot of
the tub, and I watch them all day; and, please, how am I to take them
home?”
“Well, I must come and see them first,” her father said.
“And please, father, I got lost one day, and had my frock stolen—
the new one—and the bees stung me, and a crab nipped my finger,
and I was very naughty once—only once—and I went on to a green
ship, and—and—”
“Why, Peggy, you seem to have had a week of the most
extraordinary adventures; it will be quite dull to come home.”
Peggy wasn’t quite sure about this. She had so many things she
was fond of at home, that if only she might take her sea beasts back
with her, she thought she would be quite happy to return. She sat still
for a few minutes thinking about this, while Aunt Euphemia spoke to
her father. But the moment the carriage stopped at the door, she
seized her father’s hand, and begged him to come and see her tub
of sea beasts.
“Not till after tea, Peggy; I’ll come then,” he said.
Peggy would have liked him to come there and then, but she
knew she must wait.
Tea seemed longer than usual. Her father told her to be quiet, so
she ate away without uttering a word, and listened to all the dull
things Aunt Euphemia was saying. At last, when tea was over, she
came round to where her father sat, and took hold of his hand, and
gave it a little squeeze, which she knew he would understand.
“Yes, dearest!” he said,
but waited to hear the end of
what Aunt Euphemia was
saying. “Now, Peggy,” he
said at last, “come along;”
and together they went out
to the garden, and came to
the tub. Peggy looked in.
“Why, father,” she cried,
“my crab is floating on his
back! Isn’t it funny of him?”
Colonel Roberts examined the crab for a minute.
“I’m afraid he’s dead, Peggy,” he said. “They don’t turn up their
toes that way unless they’re dead.”