2017.09.0403:23:00UTC+00State-Backed Firms Reclaim Tops Spot in China’s Overseas M&A Ranking

The state has re-surfaced as China's number one overseas deal-maker this year after authorities retreated its ambitious shopping spree of investment abroad.

Government-owned firms and funds disclosed $28.7 billion in cross-border acquisitions during the first half of 2017, higher than the $26.6 billion in deals closed by private companies, according to data from Reuters and a report by PwC.

The buyout of Logicor by China Investment Corporation, valued at $13.8 billion, is one of the country's biggest acquisitions this year and is included in the count of state deals.

Beginning the second half of 2015, after an easing of regulation, private enterprises began to overshadow state investors and became the face of Chinese global acquisitions and became the most powerful force in cross-border deals.

Regulators started becoming concerned last year regarding the string of acquisitions by the private sector used as a strategy to move capital offshore, forcing authorities to launch probes.

And now, due to the probes and clampdown on overseas deals, for the first time in one-and-a-half-year period, the value of state-backed deals topped private ones. Against the second half of last year, state deals have risen by 86 percent while private deals have fallen by 40 percent.