China Inc on buying spree of global healthcare assets

Beijing

CHINA'S healthcare companies are on an acquisition tear, attempting to buy their way into international markets like never before.

Chinese firms have announced more than US$3.9 billion in overseas acquisitions in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare sectors this year - a pace on track to exceed last year's record total and a tenfold increase from the amount spent in all of 2012, data compiled by Bloomberg shows.

That surge is driven by Chinese tycoons and businesses seeking to diversify in the face of slowing growth at home and a government push to upgrade the "Made in China" brand. In the domestic market, many of these companies are grappling with a fragmented drug industry with close to …