東南亞將成中資企業投資新熱點

After a record-breaking first quarter of 2016 for Chinese outbound mergers and acquisitions focused on the US and Europe, more mainland-based companies are poised to follow Alibaba in targeting assets in the fast-growing region closer to home.

在聚焦美歐的中國企業在2016年第一季度刷新境外併購紀錄之後，更多中國企業準備效仿阿里巴巴(Alibaba)，在距離本土較近的快速增長地區物色收購目標。

The Chinese ecommerce and internet group last week agreed to take a $1bn controlling stake in Singapore-based online shopping start-up Lazada, marking Alibaba’s biggest cross-border Deal.

阿里巴巴上週同意斥資10億美元買下新加坡網絡購物初創企業Lazada的控股權，這是這家中國電子商務和互聯網集團迄今最大的跨境交易。

According to a survey by law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, acquisitive Chinese corporations are poised to follow Alibaba’s lead and have marked the region as a focus for investment.

史密夫斐爾律師事務所(Herbert Smith Freehills)的一項調查顯示，收購意識較強的中國企業正準備效仿阿里巴巴，把東南亞地區列爲投資焦點。

Some 47 per cent of large Chinese corporations surveyed identified their top destination for investment over the next three years as Southeast Asia, followed by 17 per cent homing in on Latin America.

在受訪的大型中國企業中，大約47%把東南亞視爲未來三年的首選投資目的地，17%企業瞄準拉丁美洲。

Only 8 per cent of respondents said the US was a future top destination for investment.

只有8%的受訪者表示，美國是未來的首選投資目的地。

Malaysia was flagged as the principal destination for Chinese deals, particularly its energy sector, followed by Singapore and Indonesia.

馬來西亞被列爲中資境外交易的首要目的地，尤其是該國的能源行業，其次是新加坡和印度尼西亞。

“It does represent quite a shift from what we have seen in the past,” said the firm’s Singapore-based M&A partner Nicola Yeomans, noting the recent flurry of China deals into the US. “It’s a matter of wanting to consolidate in their backyard . . . And now [Chinese companies] have the resources to do that.”

“這與我們過去看到的情況相比是很大的轉變，”這家律所常駐新加坡的併購業務合夥人尼古拉•約曼斯(Nicola Yeomans)表示，她指出近期中國企業在美國達成了一連串交易。“這是一個想在自己的後院進行整合的問題……而現在（中國企業）有足夠的資源來做到這一點。”

Globally, Southeast Asia was a top target for investment with 60 per cent of corporations marking the region as a first choice, according to the Herbert Smith Freehills report, which surveyed 700 senior executives from global companies with more than $1bn in annual revenues.

根據上述史密夫斐爾律所報告，從全球來看，東南亞也是首選投資目標，60%的公司將該地區列爲首選投資目的地。這家律所對全年營收超過10億美元的全球公司的700名高管進行了調查。

As growth in many emerging markets slows, several of Southeast Asia’s economies are expected to remain strong. Indonesia and the Philippines were among just a few emerging economies expected to deliver strong growth in 2016, according to Nomura.

在許多新興市場增長放緩的背景下，東南亞的多個經濟體預計仍將保持強勁。野村證券(Nomura)表示，印尼和菲律賓躋身於預計將在2016年實現強勁增長的少數新興經濟體之列。

China became the driving force for M&A in Asia-Pacific last year. Companies from the mainland struck about $50bn in regional deals in 2015, more than doubling the figure from the year before and comprising 40 per cent of the regional total, according to Dealogic.

中國去年成爲亞太地區併購交易的推動力量。Dealogic的數據顯示，中國內地企業在2015年達成了大約500億美元的地區交易，比上年高出一倍多，且佔到地區交易總額的40%。

The value of outbound Chinese deals hit $101bn in the first quarter of the year, nearly eclipsing the previous annual record of $109bn recorded over the whole of 2015. Chinese buyouts have focused on developed markets such as the US and Europe in sectors such as materials, technology and hospitality.

今年首季，中資境外併購交易總額達到1010億美元，幾乎趕上2015年創下的1090億美元的全年紀錄。迄今中資收購對象集中在美國和歐洲等發達市場，涉及的行業包括材料、技術和酒店。

Deals in the quarter included the biggest Chinese takeover of a foreign company, when ChemChina, the sprawling chemicals group, agreed a $43.8bn all-cash deal to buy Swiss agribusiness Syngenta.

該季度達成的交易包括中資迄今最大的境外收購，即中國化工(ChemChina)以438億美元的全現金交易收購瑞士農業綜合企業先正達(Syngenta)。

Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia, has already seen a windfall in Chinese investment over the past year.

東南亞，特別是馬來西亞，已經在過去一年看到來自中國的投資大幅增長。

In the biggest Chinese buyout in that region last year, China General Nuclear Power Corp, or CGN, in November agreed to pay $2.3bn in cash for the energy business of troubled state fund 1Malaysia Development.

去年中資在東南亞地區達成的最大收購交易是，中廣核(CGN)在11月同意以23億美元現金收購馬來西亞陷入困境的政府投資基金1Malaysia Development(1MDB)旗下的能源業務。

Official Chinese state media reported this week that CGN planned to set up its regional headquarters in Malaysia as a springboard into Southeast Asia.

據中國官方媒體近日報道，中廣核擬在馬來西亞設立地區總部，作爲進軍東南亞的跳板。