Once upon a time – not all that long ago, actually – US and European companies were queueing up to buy stakes in their Chinese counterparts. Often this was at the urging of their investors, keen for indirect exposure to the world’s biggest consumer market when the direct variety was less accessible than today. But time flies. The trend of a decade and more ago is now being unwound as US and European companies retreat in the teeth of economic upheaval and regulatory changes. Many now have tiny minority stakes in their original investments. The question is what to do with those stakes.
A good example is Telefónica, which said last week that it would sell almost half of its 10 per cent stake in Chinese mobile operator China Unicom for about €1bn as it tries to cut its debt. The stake was bought in 2005 when the Spanish operator was on an international acquisition spree. Now it has become merely, and conveniently, a source of capital. So much for ambition.
Over the past decade, overseas companies have taken more than 2,000 direct minority stakes in Chinese companies. Many of them have paid off handsomely. Western banks invested $22bn in their Chinese peers between 2004 and 2006. Bank of America booked a $2.9bn gain in last year’s fourth quarter by selling part of its stake in China Construction Bank.