China outbound M&A climbs to record highs
Outbound merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in China has rocketed so far in 2016.
The country has become the world leader in cross-border acquisitions, overtaking the US and Canada for the first time on record, according to data from Dealogic.
M&A activity has hit $110.8bn (£76.7bn) so far this year, surpassing the 2015 full-year record of $106.8bn.
Read more: Here's why 2015 was such a bumper year for M&A
The increase is driven by 17 deals worth over $1bn already this year, for a combined total of $83.4bn worth of mega-deals, up from $16.7bn worth of super-sized deals in the same period last year.
The US accounts for 29 per cent of Chinese outbound M&A deals with $31.3bn so far this year, up from $3.9bn in 2015.
Meanwhile, Dealogic previously found the UK appears to be losing its M&A appeal in 2016.
In March it reported that UK-targeted M&A activity had fallen 39 per cent year on year in the first quarter to $45.9bn.
The fall in UK-targeted M&A has been linked to the looming EU referendum and a weakened pound.
Read more: EU referendum contributing to "major pause" in UK M&A
However, fintech, automotive technology and the e-commerce industries are all expected to do well from M&A in coming years.
In a series of reports, Hampleton Partners has found M&A activity in these areas has been “growing substantially” over the last 30 months, with movement from China and Silicon Valley predicted to keep the deal volume high.