Chinese firms might be on an unprecedented overseas buying spree but Anbang Insurance’s failed bid to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts – the latest in a string of deals that have fallen through – highlights how they might have yet to emerge as credible, global corporate players despite their deep pockets.

From semiconductors to real estate, China’s voracious appetite for Western firms has led to its outbound cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) deals topping US$101 billion (S$137 billion) in the first quarter alone, nearly eclipsing last year’s full-year record of US$110 billion, says a Reuters report.

State-backed chemical company ChemChina, for instance, acquired Swiss agribusiness group Syngenta with a knockout offer of US$43 billion in February, at a roughly 20 per cent premium to its then market value, making it the biggest Chinese takeover of a foreign firm so far.

… “Chinese firms are domiciled in a country where its government is communist. Regardless of how they improve their management and governance, they’ll always face certain Western prejudice and suspicion,” says Dr Friedrich Wu from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.