"But the range of Chinese companies engaged in outbound investment is now growing, expanding from oil, mining and metals companies to telecoms and other industries," Wong added.
Looking forward to the remainder of 2007, domestic M&A activity is likely to continue to grow and in the process create larger national companies that will become more effective competitors at home and abroad, Wong said.
He noted that overseas investment will gradually increase, with a broader range of large State-owned groups taking the lead. Incoming M&A activity is likely to grow more slowly until valuation expectations subside, and financial investors are likely to remain focused on minority positions in larger transactions until they sense a change in the regulatory approval landscape, he said.
