Foreign property investment by Chinese companies "plunged" by 84% last month, as Beijing’s capital controls "choked off the flow of foreign acquisitions," according to Gabriel Wildau of the FINANCIAL TIMES. In an "effort to curb capital outflows and ease downward pressure" on the yuan, Chinese regulators have in recent months "imposed a series of restrictions on outbound dealmaking." The curbs "came after outbound investment in non-financial assets surged" by 44% in '16 to a record $170B. The restrictions "have had an effect." Overall, non-financial outbound investment fell 36% in January from a year earlier to 53B yuan ($7.8B), the commerce ministry said on Thursday, following a 39% drop in December. Four government agencies including the commerce ministry and the central bank said in December that they would apply tighter scrutiny to "irrational" outbound deals including real estate, hotels, movie theaters, entertainment assets and sports clubs. Last month, the Chinese FA "announced new rules to limit Chinese teams from acquiring high-priced foreign players" (FT, 2/16).
