With M&A (transnational merges and acquisitions) gradually becoming the main form of direct investment abroad, China is also considering making use of it to reform its state enterprises, said Ma Xiuhong, assistant minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (MOFTEC).

Ma made the remarks at a press conference on UN's "World Investment Report 2000". She said cross-border M&A have been proportionately developed from year to year since 1995. Transnational direct investment came to a total worth of US$844 billion in 1999, of which 720 billion plus, or over 85%, were transnational purchases, and there were 109 merges with every single deal to a worth of over US$1 billion.

Cross-border M&A can in no way be separately treated from the globalization of world economies and, as a matter of course, the two mutually support and promote each other, Ma pointed out. When China steps up its effort in joining the world economy, we can not ignore or avoid M&A impact on our use of foreign investment and economic reform carried out.

Taking cross-border merges as an important subject, MOFTEC has been closely tracing and studying transnational corporations' investment trends in recent years. Since most developing countries are still following traditional practice in making investment, they must be very cautious when introducing a new form from the developed countries. They should firstly, according to their own economic conditions, work out necessary laws and regulations in this regard.

As things stand in today's China, our market system is far from being ripe, especially there is an immature capital market, which has not yet been wholly open and lacks relevant laws. Traditional practices as of funding and developing cooperation are still being followed by 70% of foreign investments. As China will open wider to the outside world, transnational M&A will surely be used in a transformed form in China.

(People's Daily 10/12/2000)