CRI听力:Private Firms Become Leading Force in China's Overseas Investment

According to the latest figures from China's Commerce Ministry, through the first three quarters of this year, private enterprises' total spending on overseas mergers and acquisitions have, for the first time, surpassed that of their state-owned counterparts.

Spending exceeded 26 billion U.S. dollars.

Commerce Ministry Spokesperson Shen Danyang.

"On one hand, private enterprises have strong motivation for overseas investment because of their own needs for transforming and upgrading, and some markets abroad also welcome China to invest. On the other hand, policies are favorable as the Chinese government encourages enterprises to 'go out' and issues a number of supportive policies."

In April, Nanjing Cenbest acquired nearly 90% of the stock in the UK's House of Fraser, spending some 320 million dollars, the largest overseas acquisition by a Chinese retailer so far.

In June, China's leading property developer Wanda Group bought Edificio Espana, a landmark building in Spain, for some 330 million dollars.

Along with investing in Europe, Chinese investors are also paying more attention to the Asia-Pacific region.

Zhao Yucheng, a business manager from Thomson Reuters, explains.

"The amount of Chinese companies' investment in the Asia-Pacific region used to account for only a quarter of the total amount, but this year, the figure reached nearly 50%. It's helped by government policies."

According to the Commerce Ministry, nearly 120 mergers and acquisitions happened in the region in the first three quarters, with the total spending approaching 20 billion dollars.

Those include Anbang Insurance's agreement with U.S. Hilton Group on purchasing the Waldorf Astoria New York for nearly 200 million dollars.

Zhao Yucheng adds that the fields in which Chinese firms invest are now more diversified, with retail, medical, and high-tech industries becoming increasingly popular, apart from traditional fields like power, energy or material industries.

For CRI, I'm Cao Yuwei.