Struggling to seal deals in the U.S. as regulatory scrutiny tightens, Chinese companies looking to invest in promising technology are finding a warmer welcome for their cash in Israel, Reuters said Thursday.
Chinese companies have long looked in the U.S. for deals to develop their technological knowhow and open up new markets, but since late 2016 they have faced increased U.S. protectionism and a tougher regulatory stance.
Last year, Chinese investment into Israel jumped more than 10-fold to a record $16.5 billion, with money going into Internet, cybersecurity and medical device start-ups. These investments surged in the third quarter just as the U.S. regulatory crackdown began to bite, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Chinese bidders scrapped a record $26.3 billion worth of previously announced deals in the U.S. in 2016, the data shows.
Speaking on the sidelines of a Hong Kong conference last month, TCL Corp Chairman Li Dongsheng told Reuters the review of one target company, which he declined to identify, had been frozen following the election of President Donald Trump, who has championed a protectionist agenda. Li's group is looking in Israel instead.
"I'm flying to Israel in May where we've selected more than 10 potential targets," Li said, adding that the group is interested in technology companies dealing in smart manufacturing, new materials, big data and Internet applications.
China Everbright (CEL), the Hong Kong investment arm of State-owned China Everbright Group, is also looking at Israel, said Chen Shuang, CEL's chief execu-tive.
"Our Israel-focused fund has already invested in four local companies there, and we plan to invest in another three to four within this year."
