After Anbang Takeover, China’s Deal Money, Already Ebbing, Could Slow Further
In Washington, the Anbang takeover has galvanized lawmakers
and Trump administration officials who have called for the United States to take a tougher look at Chinese purchases of American companies.
“Investors in companies outside China in which Anbang, Wanda or HNA own a stake of less than 100 percent should expect
that the stake held by the Chinese investor will be put on the market over 2018,” said Gordon Orr, the former Asia chairman at global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
These include hotels across the United States, a large stake in a South Korean bank, a Dutch insurance company and a South Korean insurance company.
The Committee on Foreign Investment, the government committee
that reviews foreign purchases of American companies in the United States, could become an even tougher hurdle.
“This cannot go unnoticed by those tasked to uphold our national security through Cfius
and export controls,” Mr. Pittenger said, referring to China’s takeover of Anbang last week.
For years, China was an enthusiastic and big buyer of hotels
and real estate, entertainment companies and logistics companies in the United States, rewarding those who put the deals together.
Just as the Chinese government announced its plans to take over Anbang last week, the American semiconductor testing company Xcerra Corporation announced
that its $580 million sale to Hubei Xinyan, an investment fund backed by the Chinese state, had been blocked by American officials.
