{"id":142338,"date":"2012-08-28T00:45:36","date_gmt":"2012-08-28T07:45:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=142338"},"modified":"2012-08-28T00:47:39","modified_gmt":"2012-08-28T07:47:39","slug":"chinese-firms-look-west-amid-economic-slowdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/08\/chinese-firms-look-west-amid-economic-slowdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Firms Look West Amid Economic Slowdown"},"content":{"rendered":"
From investments in energy, property, entertainment<\/a> and other sectors, David Pierson and Don Lee of The Los Angeles Times report that Chinese firms have been snapping up U.S. assets at a record pace<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n With U.S. real estate prices depressed and many firms in the West starved for cash, the Chinese see a prime opportunity to rummage through the bargain bins of rich countries to gain technological know-how and international reach.<\/p>\n They’re also hedging against rising costs and uncertainties inside China. The world’s second-largest economy is struggling with its slowest growth rate since the financial crisis in 2008.<\/p>\n “The Chinese growth model is changing fundamentally,” said Thilo Hanemann, research director for the New York-based Rhodium Group, which tracks Chinese direct investment.<\/p>\n “Chinese companies need to escape the profit squeeze in low-end manufacturing and move up and down the value chain. Expanding investment in developed economies is an essential part of that,” Hanemann said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Examples abound – Real estate magnate Wang Jianlin’s Wanda Group agreed to acquire cinema chain AMC Entertainment<\/a> in late May, and last week Chinese sovereign wealth fund CIC made an investment in a U.S. natural gas export plant<\/a>. The trend is worrying some American officials, Pierson and Lee add, even if the China issue has taken a backseat during the U.S. presidential campaign. China’s investment push west has also raised official eyebrows<\/a> north of the border, where state-owned CNOOC has faced obstacles in its\u00a0proposed $15.1 billion acquisition<\/a> of Canada<\/a>\u2019s Nexen<\/a>. CNOOC’s offer for Nexen would be the richest foreign takeover ever for a Chinese company, according to Reuters, which reported last week that shareholders will vote next month<\/strong><\/a> on whether to approve the transaction:<\/p>\n The move is the most ambitious foray by resource-hungry China into North American energy since a 2005 attempt to buy U.S.-based Unocal for $18.5 billion was thwarted by a political backlash in the United States.<\/p>\n Chinese companies have been among the most aggressive in targeting assets around the globe to help feed demand in the world’s second-biggest economy.<\/p>\n According to details included in a proxy circular filed with regulators, CNOOC’s July 23 offer of $27.50 per Nexen share came after the Canadian firm rejected two earlier bids.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From investments in energy, property, entertainment and other sectors, David Pierson and Don Lee of The Los Angeles Times report that Chinese firms have been snapping up U.S. assets at a record pace: With U.S. real estate prices depressed and many firms in the West starved for cash, the Chinese see a prime opportunity to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":983,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[116,2,14744,14745,14746,100],"tags":[15291,6363,15490,779,7702,15280],"class_list":["post-142338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","category-economy","category-level-2-article","category-level-3-article","category-level-4-article","category-politics","tag-amc-entertainment","tag-canada","tag-nexen","tag-overseas-investment","tag-us-relations","tag-wanda-group","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n