Strong M&A Activity Cushions Greenfield Drop: Q4 2025 Update
The momentum of Chinese outbound FDI dropped in Q4 2025, with only $19.2 billion in newly announced transactions. Greenfield investment led the slowdown, with only a single new billion-dollar project announced.
Investment momentum
New data from the China Cross-Border Monitor (CBM) shows that mainland Chinese companies announced 111 major FDI transactions in Q4 2025 totaling an estimated $19.2 billion.
Greenfield investment totaled $10.9 billion and accounted for 55% of total investment. Only one transaction over $1 billion was recorded this quarter, compared to a quarterly average of seven since 2024. The largest transaction was China National Petroleum Corporation’s $1.44 billion investment in the Coral North floating LNG project in Mozambique, where it holds a 20% stake alongside Eni, Kogas, ENH, and ADNOC.
New M&A transactions by Chinese firms totaled $8.3 billion, marking the highest quarterly value since Q4 2020. Interest in consumer brands and mining assets drove this rebound. The largest transaction was HongShan Capital Group’s estimated $1.5 billion acquisition of Italian luxury footwear brand Golden Goose, followed by Jiangxi Copper’s $1.17 billion acquisition of SolGold’s Cascabel copper mine in Ecuador.
Strong M&A Activity Cushions Greenfield Drop: Q4 2025 Update
The momentum of Chinese outbound FDI dropped in Q4 2025, with only $19.2 billion in newly announced transactions. Greenfield investment led the slowdown, with only a single new billion-dollar project announced.
Read on the China Cross-Border Monitor