Outbound mergers, acquisitions hit record

Chinese outbound mergers and acquisitions hit a record in the first half of 2016, benefiting from smooth financing in the A-share market and the rise of financial investors, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers on Wednesday.

There were 493 outbound merger and acquisition deals made in the first six months, an increase of 178.5 percent year-on-year. Their value totaled $134.3 billion, an increase of 346.2 percent year-on-year, more than that of the previous two full years combined, PwC data showed.

Even after deducting China National Chemical Corporation's $43 billion bid for Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta AG, the biggest ever outbound M&A deal by a Chinese buyer, the value of China's outbound M&A activity grew by 203.3 percent year-on-year.