Beijing moves to stop M&A shopping spree

Beijing is embarking on a massive policy shift designed to stem ­capital flight by curbing outbound investment. Tighter control of overseas­ ­investment is likely to put an end to a trophy-asset shopping spree by well-connected companies such as Anbang Insurance and Dalian Wanda. Shanghai’s municipal foreign exchange authority had told bank managers in the city that all overseas payments under the capital account of more than US$5 million would have to be submitted to Beijing. A document seen by the South China Morning Post said that from now until September of next year, Beijing would ban: deals involving investment of more than US$10 billion; mergers and acquisitions valued at more than US$1 billion outside a Chinese investor’s core business; and foreign real estate deals by state-owned enterprises involving more than US$1 billion.