Asia’s dealmaking league tables have become the subject of unprecedented wrangling between rival bankers over who deserves credit for working with China’s state-owned enterprises.
Reforms to China’s sprawling state sector offer investment bankers the opportunity to secure lucrative fees. In July, Beijing announced plans to boost efficiency and improve governance — a process in which private investment is set to play a key role.
But bankers and data compilers report a series of fights over who has been given credit for the two megadeals involving Chinese SOEs so far: Sinopec’s $17.4bn saleof a 30 per cent stake in its retail business and Citic Group’s injection of $37bn in assets into its Hong Kong-listed unit.