ODI made a positive start, recording double-digit increase
Statistics shows that in Q1 2023, China overall ODI reached US$40.5 billion, up 18% YOY. China non-financial ODI was US$31.5 billion during the period, up 17.2% YOY. Some industries saw faster growth in ODI, with investments in wholesale & retail industry and transportation, warehousing and postal services increasing by 31.4% and 24.4%, respectively. The B&R non-financial ODI was US$5.8 billion, up 9.5% YOY and representing 18.3% of the total for the same period, mainly invested in countries and regions such as ASEAN, Serbia, the United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan1.
Figure 1: China overall ODI (US$ billion)
![](https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_cn/topics/coin/coin-q1-2023/ey-coin-q1-2023-fig1.png)
Note: Due to rounding, the total may not be equal to the sum of individual quarters.
Sources: Monthly Statistics in Brief, China MOFCOM
Figure 2: China non-financial ODI along the B&R (US$ billion)
![](https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_cn/topics/coin/coin-q1-2023/ey-coin-q1-2023-fig2.png)
Note: Due to rounding, the total may not be equal to the sum of individual quarters.
Sources: Monthly Statistics in Brief, China MOFCOM
China overseas M&As continued to decrease with advanced manufacturing & mobility as the most popular sector
In Q1 2023, the value of announced China overseas M&As was only US$3.5 billion, down 26% YOY to a recent quarterly low. The number of announced deals decreased by 4% to 116.
Figure 3: Value of announced China overseas M&As (US$ billion)
![](https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_cn/topics/coin/coin-q1-2023/ey-coin-q1-2023-fig3.png)
Note: Due to rounding, the total may not be equal to the sum of individual quarters.
Sources: Refinitiv; Mergermarket, including data from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and deals that have been announced but not yet completed, data was downloaded on 3 April 2023; EY analysis
Figure 4: Volume of announced China overseas M&As
![](https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_cn/topics/coin/coin-q1-2023/ey-coin-q1-2023-fig4.png)
Note: Due to rounding, the total may not be equal to the sum of individual quarters.
Sources: Refinitiv; Mergermarket, including data from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and deals that have been announced but not yet completed, data was downloaded on 3 April 2023; EY analysis
Figure 5: Announced China overseas M&As by sector** in Q1 2023 (by deal value)
![](https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_cn/topics/coin/coin-q1-2023/ey-coin-q1-2023-fig5.png)
**AMM refers to advanced manufacturing & mobility; RHC refers to real estate, hospitality & construction; HCLS refers to health care & life sciences; FS refers to financial services; CP refers to consumer products.
Sources: Refinitiv; Mergermarket, including data from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and deals that have been announced but not yet completed, data was downloaded on 3 April 2023; EY analysis
Figure 6: Announced China overseas M&As by sector** in Q1 2023 (by deal volume)
![](https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_cn/topics/coin/coin-q1-2023/ey-coin-q1-2023-fig6.png)
**AMM refers to advanced manufacturing & mobility; RHC refers to real estate, hospitality & construction; HCLS refers to health care & life sciences; FS refers to financial services; CP refers to consumer products.
Sources: Refinitiv; Mergermarket, including data from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and deals that have been announced but not yet completed, data was downloaded on 3 April 2023; EY analysis
Figure 7: Deal value and volume of China overseas M&As by continent in Q1 2023
![](https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_cn/topics/coin/coin-q1-2023/ey-coin-q1-2023-fig7.png)
Sources: Refinitiv; Mergermarket, including data from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and deals that have been announced but not yet completed, data was downloaded on 3 April 2023; EY analysis
Figure 8: Top 10 destinations of China overseas M&As in Q1 2023 (By deal value: US$ million)
![](https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_cn/topics/coin/coin-q1-2023/ey-coin-q1-2023-fig8.png)
Sources: Refinitiv; Mergermarket, including data from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and deals that have been announced but not yet completed, data was downloaded on 3 April 2023; EY analysis
Figure 9: Top 10 destinations of China overseas M&As in Q1 2023 (By deal volume)
![](https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_cn/topics/coin/coin-q1-2023/ey-coin-q1-2023-fig9.png)
Sources: Refinitiv; Mergermarket, including data from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and deals that have been announced but not yet completed, data was downloaded on 3 April 2023; EY analysis
Turnover of overseas EPC projects increased relatively quickly and percentage of newly-signed B&R projects rose considerably
In Q1 2023, the total amount of newly-signed China overseas EPC projects decreased 9% YOY to US$43.2 billion. However, the amount in the B&R countries and regions increased 3.7% YOY to US$25.5 billion, which represented 59.2% of the total during the period, up 7.2 percentage points YOY. The value of completed turnover of Chinese overseas EPC projects was US$31.7 billion, up 9.2% YOY, while the value in the B&R countries and regions was US$17 billion, up 6.5% YOY, accounting for 53.7% of the total1. Examples of new mega-scale projects in this quarter include: 1) an investment agreement signed for solar photovoltaic power production in Uzbekistan with an investment of about US$2 billion; 2) an urban railway project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa) worth about US$970 million; 3) a seawater desalination project and a camp project in Saudi Arabia with a combined contract value of about US$650 million; 4) a contract signed for building a cement production line in Nigeria worth about US$580 million4.
Figure 10: Value of newly-signed China overseas EPC contracts (US$ billion)
![](https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_cn/topics/coin/coin-q1-2023/ey-coin-q1-2023-fig10.png)
Note: Due to rounding, the total may not be equal to the sum of individual quarters.
Source: Monthly Statistics in Brief, China MOFCOM
Figure 11: Value of completed turnover of China overseas EPC contracts (US$ billion)
![](https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_cn/topics/coin/coin-q1-2023/ey-coin-q1-2023-fig11.png)
Note: Due to rounding, the total may not be equal to the sum of individual quarters.
Source: Monthly Statistics in Brief, China MOFCOM
Summary
EY Greater China region releases the Overview of China outbound investment of Q1 2023. The report shows that China overall ODI remarkably increased 18% YOY to US$40.5 billion in Q1 2023. However, the announced China overseas M&A activities continued to be sluggish, with announced deal value reaching a recent quarterly low of US$3.5 billion, down 26% YOY. Asia remains the most popular destination for overseas M&As.