Investment to remain buoyant in ‘ Belt, Road’

Chinese companies’ strategic acquisitions and investments related to the “One Belt, One Road” initiative are expected to remain buoyant in 2017 despite an uncertain global political and economic outlook, according to a report released Wednesday.

Countries and regions along the route of the initiative are emerging as hot destinations for Chinese outbound investment, especially in Southeast Asia and South Asia, because of their huge market potential, according to Deloitte’s 2017 Outbound Investment Guide for Chinese Businesses.

Western Europe and North America will remain the largest recipients of Chinese investment, but new political leadership in key economies in those regions will create adjustments in their trade relations with China.

Despite changes, it is an irreversible trend for Chinese companies to invest in overseas markets, and government will continue to encourage strategic foreign investment, the report said.