Doors opened for foreign investors in China
New rules have come into force in China that make it easier for foreign companies to buy shares in listed Chinese companies, and lawyers say this could encourage a surge in mergers and acquisitions.
The rules, reports the Financial Times, allow strategic foreign investors to purchase stakes of more than 10% of a companys A-shares, the most liquid class of shares on the mainland stockmarket, if the purchaser holds the equity for longer than three years. Howard Chao, head of the Asia practice of O\'Melveny & Myers, said there were many multinationals looking to do deals with A-share companies in China, because they tended to be more established businesses with greater economies of scale. Full Financial Times report