Baring Private Equity Asia and International Finance Corp said they have paid a combined US$47.2 million to buy a minority stake in Chinese refrigerant producer Dongyue Group Ltd.

Baring Asia and International Finance will own a combined 27.3 percent in Shandong-based Dongyue. Dongyue will use proceeds from the stake sale to increase production capacity.

Competition is increasing among buyout firms, including Baring Asia, for assets in China as the government tightens rules on stake sales to foreign investors to keep control of key industries. The value of announced foreign acquisitions in China fell 11 percent to US$27.5 billion last year.

The Ministry of Commerce was added to a list of government agencies that must sign off on acquisitions by foreign companies, according to draft government rules that are meant to prevent asset sales that "threaten national economic security."