China's US$246b foreign buying spree is unravelling

London

CHINA'S biggest-ever foreign acquisition frenzy is ending almost as dramatically as it began.

After stunning the world with a record US$246 billion 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 per cent 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.

Analysts see few signs of a rebound as Chinese regulators make it difficult for acquirers to move money overseas. Foreign sellers have also thrown up new hurdles after getting spooked by a string of cancelled deals. S…