Overseas mergers and acquisitions resemble the roses with thorns which seem appealing but hard to hold, said Pan Gongsheng, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

Pan, also director of China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), made the remark on the overseas investment fever by Chinese companies at the annual China Development Forum in Beijing on Monday.

According to data released by China's Ministry of Commerce, China's outbound non-financial direct investment in 2016 climbed to 170.11 billion U.S. dollars, hitting a record high growth rate of 44.1% year on year.

At the forum, Pan said, irrational and abnormal investment behaviors are detected in routine supervision. For example, a steel plant buys a film company abroad, a Chinese restaurant acquires a online game company, or some companies even transfer assets overseas in the disguise of merger and acquisition.

Pan stressed that Chinese government has always been supportive for companies to enter international market and to invest abroad. But such overseas investment should be healthier and in better order. Over the past few months, the growth of overseas direct investment has been slowing down, indicating that main market players return to rationality. Japan's 1980s buying America spree is a lesson. For Chinese companies which intend to go out, better steadily than fast. 

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn