China deals dominate Asia-Pacific in H1

China is increasingly favored as a hub for wheeling and dealing in Asia-Pacific, which saw strong growth in China-related investments in the first half of the year as the country became the biggest market for mergers and acquisitions in the region, South China Morning Post reported, citing PricewaterhouseCoopers. The total value of these deals rose 18.7% to RMB1.125 trillion (US$183.1 billion) from a year earlier, PwC said. Outbound investments from China grew 49% to RMB212.5 billion in the first half, while its outbound investments through Hong Kong soared 59% to RMB56.51 billion. PwC said overseas investments by state-owned enterprises were flat due to reforms in the sector, but that this would lead to large deals in the future.