BERLIN -- Chinese investment in Europe is shifting from mergers and acquisitions to greenfield projects mainly in battery production for electric vehicles, according to 2022 data analyzed by independent research providers MERICS and Rhodium Group.
Greenfield investment made up 57 percent of total foreign direct investment by China in Europe in 2022, overtaking mergers and acquisitions for the first time since 2008, according to the report released on Tuesday.
Tencent's acquisition of Sumo Digital was the only transaction worth over 1 billion euros ($1.10 billion), with most other major investments in battery plants by companies such as CATL, Envision AESC, and SVOLT.
"We are witnessing a major shift in how Chinese companies invest in Europe... Chinese firms have become major players in Europe's green transition," Agatha Kratz, director of the Rhodium Group, said in the statement.