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Technology, property sectors weigh on M&A in China for a second year in a row, Dealogic says

  • Value of mergers and acquisitions falls 24 per cent so far this year to US$344.3 billion, according to data provider Dealogic
  • Deal making slumps by more than 50 per cent in China’s tech sector

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Shandong Iron & Steel Group’s plant in Jinan, Shandong province. Deal making in the metal and steel industry has surged 111 per cent so far this year. Photo: Reuters
Zhang Shidongin Shanghai

Mergers and acquisitions in China are set to shrink for a second year in 2019 on the back of a slump in deals in technology and real estate industries, according to data provider Dealogic.

The total value of M&A – inbound and domestic – stands at US$344.3 billion so far this year, 24 per cent lower than 2018, Dealogic said in a report on Wednesday.

The technology sector saw M&A values sink 51 per cent as “the contraction was a result of a lack of large deals and funding rounds in the technology sector, along with a sharp drop of volume in the real estate sector”, according to the report.

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Still, there were bright spots, with deal making in the energy and commodities sectors bucking the decline. Such deals in the energy sector jumped 70 per cent from a year earlier, while those in the metal and steel industry surged 111 per cent.

Government efforts may be behind the spurt in M&A in these industries, as Beijing continues to push ahead with the so-called supply-side reform of weeding out excess capacity in sectors such as metals and building materials through industry consolidation.

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