China’s move to reform its state-owned enterprises has seen more than $50bn of assets change hands in just two deals that make clear the potential scale of a transformation of the sprawling sector.
The two deals are the vanguard of what the region’s investment bankers hope will be a steady stream of work in the coming years as Beijing pushes forward with reforms intended to streamline lumbering SOEs and boost economic efficiency. What is less certain, however, is how profitable it will be for the dealmakers.
Sinopec this week agreed to sell a $17.4bn stake in its retail unit to a group of 25 mostly domestic investors. Just last month, Citic Group injected $37bn of assets into a Hong Kong-listed unit, transforming an ailing $6bn subsidiary into a $44bn financial conglomerate overnight.