China investors look to southeast Asia

After a record-breaking first quarter of 2016 for Chinese outbound mergers and acquisitions focused on the US and Europe, more mainland-based companies are ready to target assets closer to home, according to the Financial Times. Alibaba last week agreed to take a $1bn controlling stake in Singapore-based online shopping start-up Lazada, marking Alibaba’s biggest cross-border deal. Some 47 per cent of large Chinese corporations surveyed identified their top destination for investment over the next three years as Southeast Asia, followed by 17 per cent homing in on Latin America. Only 8 per cent of respondents said the US was a future top destination for investment.