After a record-breaking first quarter of 2016 for Chinese outbound mergers and acquisitions focused on the US and Europe, more mainland-based companies are poised to follow Alibaba in targeting assets in the fast-growing region closer to home.

在聚焦美欧的中国企业在2016年第一季度刷新境外并购纪录之后，更多中国企业准备效仿阿里巴巴(Alibaba)，在距离本土较近的快速增长地区物色收购目标。

The Chinese ecommerce and internet group last week agreed to take a $1bn controlling stake in Singapore-based online shopping start-up Lazada, marking Alibaba’s biggest cross-border deal.

阿里巴巴上周同意斥资10亿美元买下新加坡网络购物初创企业Lazada的控股权，这是这家中国电子商务和互联网集团迄今最大的跨境交易。

According to a survey by law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, acquisitive Chinese corporations are poised to follow Alibaba’s lead and have marked the region as a focus for investment.

史密夫斐尔律师事务所(Herbert Smith Freehills)的一项调查显示，收购意识较强的中国企业正准备效仿阿里巴巴，把东南亚地区列为投资焦点。

Some 47 per cent of large Chinese corporations surveyed identified their top destination for investment over the next three years as Southeast Asia, followed by 17 per cent homing in on Latin America.

在受访的大型中国企业中，大约47%把东南亚视为未来三年的首选投资目的地，17%企业瞄准拉丁美洲。

Only 8 per cent of respondents said the US was a future top destination for investment.

只有8%的受访者表示，美国是未来的首选投资目的地。

Malaysia was flagged as the principal destination for Chinese deals, particularly its energy sector, followed by Singapore and Indonesia.

马来西亚被列为中资境外交易的首要目的地，尤其是该国的能源行业，其次是新加坡和印度尼西亚。

“It does represent quite a shift from what we have seen in the past,” said the firm’s Singapore-based M&A partner Nicola Yeomans, noting the recent flurry of China deals into the US. “It’s a matter of wanting to consolidate in their backyard . . . And now [Chinese companies] have the resources to do that.”

“这与我们过去看到的情况相比是很大的转变，”这家律所常驻新加坡的并购业务合伙人尼古拉•约曼斯(Nicola Yeomans)表示，她指出近期中国企业在美国达成了一连串交易。“这是一个想在自己的后院进行整合的问题……而现在（中国企业）有足够的资源来做到这一点。”

Globally, Southeast Asia was a top target for investment with 60 per cent of corporations marking the region as a first choice, according to the Herbert Smith Freehills report, which surveyed 700 senior executives from global companies with more than $1bn in annual revenues.

根据上述史密夫斐尔律所报告，从全球来看，东南亚也是首选投资目标，60%的公司将该地区列为首选投资目的地。这家律所对全年营收超过10亿美元的全球公司的700名高管进行了调查。

As growth in many emerging markets slows, several of Southeast Asia’s economies are expected to remain strong. Indonesia and the Philippines were among just a few emerging economies expected to deliver strong growth in 2016, according to Nomura.

在许多新兴市场增长放缓的背景下，东南亚的多个经济体预计仍将保持强劲。野村证券(Nomura)表示，印尼和菲律宾跻身于预计将在2016年实现强劲增长的少数新兴经济体之列。

China became the driving force for M&A in Asia-Pacific last year. Companies from the mainland struck about $50bn in regional deals in 2015, more than doubling the figure from the year before and comprising 40 per cent of the regional total, according to Dealogic.

中国去年成为亚太地区并购交易的推动力量。Dealogic的数据显示，中国内地企业在2015年达成了大约500亿美元的地区交易，比上年高出一倍多，且占到地区交易总额的40%。

The value of outbound Chinese deals hit $101bn in the first quarter of the year, nearly eclipsing the previous annual record of $109bn recorded over the whole of 2015. Chinese buyouts have focused on developed markets such as the US and Europe in sectors such as materials, technology and hospitality.

今年首季，中资境外并购交易总额达到1010亿美元，几乎赶上2015年创下的1090亿美元的全年纪录。迄今中资收购对象集中在美国和欧洲等发达市场，涉及的行业包括材料、技术和酒店。

Deals in the quarter included the biggest Chinese takeover of a foreign company, when ChemChina, the sprawling chemicals group, agreed a $43.8bn all-cash deal to buy Swiss agribusiness Syngenta.

该季度达成的交易包括中资迄今最大的境外收购，即中国化工(ChemChina)以438亿美元的全现金交易收购瑞士农业综合企业先正达(Syngenta)。

Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia, has already seen a windfall in Chinese investment over the past year.

东南亚，特别是马来西亚，已经在过去一年看到来自中国的投资大幅增长。

In the biggest Chinese buyout in that region last year, China General Nuclear Power Corp, or CGN, in November agreed to pay $2.3bn in cash for the energy business of troubled state fund 1Malaysia Development.

去年中资在东南亚地区达成的最大收购交易是，中广核(CGN)在11月同意以23亿美元现金收购马来西亚陷入困境的政府投资基金1Malaysia Development(1MDB)旗下的能源业务。

Official Chinese state media reported this week that CGN planned to set up its regional headquarters in Malaysia as a springboard into Southeast Asia.

据中国官方媒体近日报道，中广核拟在马来西亚设立地区总部，作为进军东南亚的跳板。