China's outbound investments may reach $1.5t in 10 years

Some of its recent policies focus on outbound investment.

China's investments abroad are still growing and may even reach $1.5t in as soon as 10 years, according to a report by international law firm Linklaters.

The figure represents a 70% rise from the $880b total Chinese outbound investments from 2007 to 2016.

According to Linklaters, even if the outbound deals have slowed down recently, China’s long-term goals could result in outbound investment and acquisitions from China becoming a significant force in coming years.

This was shown through recent policies like Made in China 2025 and the Belt & Road initiative which focus on outbound investment.

William Buckley, partner for Linklaters in Corporate, said, "Despite increasing regulatory scrutiny of Chinese outbound M&A by foreign governments, and calls for greater reciprocity, there is a definite Chinese desire to pursue the right deals abroad. This is clearly supported by policies and initiatives such as Belt & Road and whilst it is true that deals have been either blocked or abandoned, lessons are being learnt on both sides which will undoubtedly help to reduce friction and increase deal flow momentum."