http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mergers-acquisitions/chi...

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mergers-acquisitions/chinese-will-step-up-overseas-investment-says-ma-consultant-andrew-thomson/story-fn91vdzj-1226129283813

ANOTHER wave of Chinese acquisitions is expected soon as the Asian superpower seeks to diversify investments beyond the underperforming greenback, and as share price falls translate to cheaper purchases.

Mergers and acquisitions consultant Andrew Thomson, a former Howard government minister, said that there had been a change of sentiment in Beijing lately and Chinese investment was expected to step up very soon.

"Any large Chinese state-owned enterprises who have been eager to buy large-scale assets, especially in bulk commodities, have really been told to wait and see for the last couple of years," Mr Thomson told ABC TV's Inside Business.

"But now, perhaps triggered by the recent uncertainty in the market and some reductions in share prices, the authorities in Beijing are now much more ready to give them permission to make these acquisitions."

The Beijing head of economic and business research group The Economist Intelligence Unit, Duncan Innes-Ker, said China would seek to diversify its investments after low returns from its US currency holdings and concerns about the greenback's future. China was likely to be increasing its appetite for risk, with mergers and acquisitions set to rise, he said. "There's certainly going to be an increase."