Positive and Negative Impacts of Cross-border M&A

Mergers and acquisitions of Chinese enterprises by foreign investors have moved onto the public radar in recent years.To date,the M&A frenzy has drawn widespread attention,with a mixed reaction from proponents and opponents.Proponents consider such mergers and acquisitions conducive to realizing strategic readjustment of the national economic structure,optimizing resource allocation and improving the corporate governance structure.Opponents,however,are concerned that foreign mergers and acquisitions may jeopardize China’s industrial security and erode the executive power of the central government in undertaking industrial development planning.Are the benefits of M&A outweighed by the costs,or vice versa? The focus column of this edition features two articles which debate this issue from opposing viewpoints.In the article"Positive and Negative Impacts of Cross-border M&A",the authors consider foreign M(?)A to be a new way of boosting the level of foreign investment utilization,and advocate China taking full advantage of this approach.The authors of the article"Self-Improvement Or Self-Mutilation",meanwhile,hold foreign M&A to blame for state-owned asset erosion,and insist that China should oppose mergers and acquisitions of key state- owned enterprises by foreign investors at fire-sale prices.