China’s foreign acquisition spree comes to an end

High deposit: Skyscrapers including the Leadenhall building, also known as the Cheesegrater (left) with 30 St Mary Axe, also known as the Gherkin (centre) and the Heron Tower (right) in the City of London. Chinese developer C C Land Holdings agreed to a 287.5mil deposit for its 1.15bil offer to buy the Cheesegrater tower in March. – Bloomberg

 HONG KONG: China’s biggest-ever foreign acquisition frenzy is ending almost as dramatically as it began.

After stunning the world with a record US$246bil of announced outbound takeovers in 2016, Chinese dealmakers are now struggling to cope with tighter capital controls and increasingly wary counterparties. Cross-border purchases plunged 67% during the first four months of this year, the biggest drop for a comparable period since the depths of the global financial crisis in 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.