Foreign M&A falls 41% in first half of 2009

Foreign merger and acquisitions in China are projected to remain restrained over the next two years after falling 41% in the first six months of 2009, the South China Morning Post reported, citing a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). According to the report, mergers and acquisitions by foreign buyers declined to just 200 transactions in the first half of 2009 in comparison to 337 deals for the same period a year ago. The majority of this year’s deals involved the finance and manufacturing sectors. "The pricing difference between foreign buyers and their acquisition targets is widening. It may take a longer time for them to find the appropriate investment in China," said Danny Po, China national merger and acquisition tax leader at PwC. Similarly, merger and acquisition deals by domestic firms declined by 17% year-on-year to 1,227 in the first half.