Investment in Belt and Road economies to reach $25b in 2020
China's direct investment in countries and regions that are part of the Belt and Road Initiative is estimated to reach $25 billion in 2020, up 100 percent from the levels seen in 2014, according to a new report from Commerzbank AG, Germany's second-biggest bank by assets.
The Belt and Road Initiative is redefining China's outbound mergers and acquisitions, with some 450 acquisition deals in Western Europe during 2016 and 2017, and 300 in 74 countries and regions that were part of the initiative during the same period, the bank said in its report. The total value of the deals during the period reached $120 billion and $60 billion respectively.
However, the number of M&A deals in Western Europe declined by 18 percent in 2017 from the 2016 level. Deals in countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative surged 8 percent during the same period.