Chinese investment banks have begun losing ground to western rivals in key battlefields such as helping local corporate raise debt abroad, reversing a multi-year Chinese advance that unnerved some US and European rivals, according to the Financial Times. New data from Dealogic shows that Chinese institutions’ share of Asia-Pacific investment banking fees fell to 39.3% for the first three quarters of 2017, from a record high of 43.8% in 2016. The fall follows three years of breakneck growth that began in 2013, when Chinese banks were earning just 16.5% share of the Asia-Pacific region’s fees for raising debt, equity and advising on mergers and acquisitions. The Chinese banks – which include more than 60 investment banks ranging from big names such as Citic and Haitong to small groups such as Caitong Securities and Tianfeng Securities – then shot up the rankings, largely on the strength of the booming market for Chinese onshore debt.