Chinese companies tripled their greenfield investments in developing countries in Asia last year in the latest sign of how the commercial landscape of the region is being reshaped by the bitter trade war between Beijing and Washington.
Data from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) published on Wednesday showed that greenfield investment by Chinese companies in the “rest of developing Asia” — a definition comprising 44 Asian countries excluding China — soared to $54.9bn in 2018, up 198 per cent over 2017.
The share taken by the rest of developing Asia in total Chinese outward greenfield investment reached 60 per cent, up from an average of 40 per cent over 2011-17, according to the ADB.