China October M&As hit year low

BEIJING -- The number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) by China's enterprises slumped to a fresh low in October amid slowing economic growth, new data showed.

According to the Zero2IPO Database, 53 mergers involving Chinese firms were completed in October. This represents a 35.4-percent decline from the previous month and the lowest reading since January.

Of the 53 cases, 47 were domestic M&A deals. The transaction value of 45 of the domestic mergers, which announced acquisition costs, amounted to $719 million.

Last month also saw four outbound M&A deals and two foreign takeovers.

Chinese enterprises have borne the brunt of the slowing economy as their net profits have plunged during the first three quarters. From January to the end of September, combined net profits of 2,493 listed companies dropped 2.07 percent year-on-year to 1.5 trillion yuan ($238 billion).

China's economic growth has slowed to a seven-quarter low of 7.4 percent in the third quarter, dragged down by lackluster external and domestic markets.

Despite the overall sluggish expansion pace, energy and mining saw the most mergers and acquisitions as nine cases were closed in the two sectors in October. The combined aquisition costs of eight deals totaled $225 million, data showed.