A steady increase in deal making in China’s financial sector activity suggests that banks remain fearless in the face of financial adversity and unstable global markets. In the year to date, the dragon has clocked up a record high of $36.2bn in mergers and acquisitions, leaping past US volumes of $26.2bn, according to data from Dealogic.
This flurry of activity could be just the beginning. Before 2003, M&A in China’s financial sector were non-existent. But beware, because a large part of the “record” volume comes not from strict M&A deals but rather from fund raising in China’s capital markets by lenders seeking extra financing.
AgBank’s blockbuster $22.1bn IPO made up a huge chunk of the $36.2bn. After that Everbright followed suit, and now a handful of other lending heavyweights - including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of China - have announced plans to raise money, all together estimated to reach Rmb350bn.