China is becoming the center for M&A business

China still remains a magnet for investment and is never off the radar screens of chief financial officers.

Despite the relative slowdown in growth, the country still posted second quarter GDP growth of 7 percent and is seen as the land of opportunities for CFOs.

"Quite simply, China is the largest market. From a business view point, you cannot ignore China," Steven Victorin, head of Asia Pacific corporate banking and global corporate banking subsidiaries at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said in an interview with China Daily.

"China is clearly seen as a longer-term story by CFOs that transcends the current structural changes occurring in the domestic economy and a market that will be treated more strategically than in previous cycles," he said.

The country is the No 1 destination for mergers and acquisitions in the Asia Pacific region this year, according to the bank's latest annual CFO Outlook Asia survey.

Around 36 percent of CFOs across Asia Pacific ranked China as their No 1 focus market for M&A, ahead of Japan's 35 percent and Australia's 26 percent.

Half of the China-based CFOs surveyed by the bank said they planned to use surplus cash for acquisitions this year－the third-highest in the region.

Today, CFOs are sitting on piles of cash. What they have to decide is what they are going to do with it. They can "deleverage", by paying off debts, or opt for organic expansion, Victorin said.

For those already in China, they are looking to do business more efficiently by closing down unsuccessful production lines and reinvesting in those with greater potential.

There are also unprecedented opportunities as the country moves ahead with plans to reform its State-owned enterprises.

For foreign companies that have been in China for years, they see tremendous growth opportunities through mergers and partnerships, Victorin said.

"A transition has been underway in the past few years," he said. "Before, China's domestic M&A market was mainly driven by SOEs, but that is now changing. An increasing number of M&A deals are involving private companies."

Obviously, CFOs have to weigh up the risks such as interest rate movements and volatility in the commodities markets. They are also closely watching the economic picture in the US and waiting for interest rates to start moving up there.

The US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has hinted that the Fed is likely to raise interest rates by the end of the year. If that happens, the US dollar will strengthen against other currencies, making US products more expensive for global consumers.

About 66 percent of CFOs in China will use surplus cash to increase their reserves to hedge against risks such exchange rate changes.

"CFOs in Asia and China know how to do business in a fast-paced and fast-moving environment," Victorin said. "Most of the successful CFOs have lived with this for decades."

A stronger dollar will make other currencies weaker, but its impact on China may be softer, according to economists, partly because it has yet to open its capital account.