Unfazed by trade spat with America, China’s big deal makers are still shopping

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The headquarters of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. in Laval, Quebec in this November 9 2015, file photo. Photo: REUTERS/Christinne Muschi

Published: 3:18pm, 8 Mar 2018Updated: 3:18pm, 8 Mar 2018

Unperturbed by prospects for a China-U.S. trade war and heightened scrutiny over outbound investments, Chinese conglomerate Sanpower Group will continue its hunt for health care acquisitions in the US and Europe.

Sanpower, which bought Dendreon Pharmaceuticals from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. last year for US$820 million, is scouting for biotech assets around the globe, Chairman Yuan Yafei said in an interview in Beijing on Wednesday. It expects to spend about US$500 million to US$800 million on such deals over the next two years, he said.

Trade-war concerns stoked by US President Donald Trump have yet to manifest for Yuan, who said he has doubts about whether they ever will.

“So far I haven’t felt it,” Yuan said, when asked if rising trade tensions make the US market less attractive. “I think two big powers like China and the US should be partners. A trade war won’t take place. The two countries need each other.“

The company intends to bring its New York-listed stem-cell storage unit China Cord Blood Corp. back to the mainland market “in the fastest way,“ Yuan said, without giving a time frame. The business would be joining a wave of US-listed Chinese companies looking to return to the mainland market, where valuation levels are higher.

Britain's Prince William (rear R) shakes hands with Yuan Yafei, the chairman of Chinese corporation Sanpower, as Yue Lei (L) and Nick Booth, CE of The Royal Foundation, sign a memorandum of understanding for the United For Wildlife charity, at Kensington Palace in London, Britain October 21, 2015. Photo: REUTERS/Nick Ansell

Sanpower owns several listed companies in China including a department store operator and several electronics companies. The group estimates it had a global workforce of more than 100,000 people and annual sales of 130 billion yuan (US$21 billion) in 2016.

While Sanpower remains undaunted by prospects for a US trade war, it also says it hasn’t been affected by the scrutiny Chinese regulators have trained on acquisitive conglomerates looking to buy overseas.