Overview of Overseas Investment by Chinese Listed Companies in 2022
（1） Overseas investment scale of Chinese listed companies in 2022
In 2022, in the context of the difficult recovery of the global economy, the continued spread of the COVID-19 and the accelerated evolution of geopolitical conflicts represented by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the international investment environment is still complex, ambiguous and full of uncertainty. In order to actively respond to the multiple impacts faced by the global supply chain and industrial chain system, and alleviate the downward pressure on the macro economy, the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly proposes to further promote high-level opening up to the outside world, improve the quality and level of trade and investment cooperation, and maintain a diverse and stable international economic pattern and economic and trade relations through deep participation in global industrial division of labor and cooperation. In recent years, as China has implemented a more proactive opening-up strategy, the dividend effect and demonstration effect of international public goods and international cooperation platforms represented by the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" have gradually emerged. According to the "2022 Survey Report on the Status and Intentions of Chinese Enterprises' Outward Investment", over 70% of the surveyed enterprises maintain or expand their existing scale of outward investment, and over 80% of the enterprises hold a relatively optimistic attitude towards the future development prospects of outward investment. Consistent with basic expectations, in this context, the total overseas investment of Chinese listed companies in 2022 shows a significant growth trend.
Figure 1 reports the total overseas investment of Chinese listed companies from 2018 to 2022. Compared to 2021, the total overseas investment of Chinese listed companies in 2022 has reached 218.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 115.35%, showing a significant growth trend. According to statistics from the Investment Database of China Investment Corporation, there were a total of 114 projects with a single overseas investment scale exceeding 100 million yuan throughout the year; There are a total of 40 projects with a single overseas investment scale exceeding 1 billion yuan; There are a total of 4 projects with a single overseas investment scale exceeding 10 billion yuan. From this, it can be seen that in addition to adding more overseas investment projects during the same period, the large-scale single overseas investment projects of listed companies in 2022 are also the direct reason for the significant year-on-year growth in overseas investment scale.
Figure 1: Total Overseas Investment of Chinese Listed Companies from 2018 to 2022
Figure 2 shows the monthly overseas investment situation of Chinese listed companies in 2022. As shown in Figure 2, consistent with the monthly situation in 2021, the overseas investment scale of listed companies in China reached the annual minimum and maximum values in February and August 2022, respectively, with investment scales of 3.472 billion yuan and 59.16 billion yuan, accounting for 1.59% and 27.04% of the total overseas investment for the year. However, from the overall distribution situation, the overseas investment scale of Chinese listed companies in the first half of the year is basically the same as that in the second half, indicating that the overseas investment capital flow of Chinese listed companies has good stability.
Figure 2 Monthly Overseas Investment Situation of Chinese Listed Companies in 2022
（2） Regional distribution of overseas investments by Chinese listed companies in 2022
The location selection of overseas investment by Chinese listed companies is the result of comprehensive consideration of the development scale and potential of the host country's market, resource endowment, degree of international trade openness, and geopolitical stability, which to some extent reflects the risk assessment and layout preference of China's overseas investment. For example, for investment regions with high levels of political mutual trust and strong economic complementarity, in order to reduce investment risks, Chinese listed companies often continue to utilize existing co construction platforms and cooperation frameworks, and engage in relevant overseas investment activities in conjunction with the resource development needs of the invested regions, achieving complementary advantages between domestic and foreign resources.
As shown in Figure 3, the preference of Chinese listed companies for overseas investment regions has a certain degree of stability and continuity, mainly focusing on Southeast Asia, Europe, South America, and Africa. In East Asia, Oceania, and West Asia, the scale of overseas investment of Chinese listed companies is relatively small, and the proportion of investment in Central and North America has shown a significant decline. Furthermore, from the specific countries where overseas investments are located, Chinese enterprises mainly invest in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand in Southeast Asia; The foreign investment targets in the European region are countries such as the United Kingdom, Hungary, and Germany; The main foreign investment targets in South America are countries such as Guyana and Uruguay; The main foreign investment targets in Africa are countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Zimbabwe, etc; The main foreign investment targets in Central and North America are countries such as the United States and Mexico; The foreign investment target in Oceania is Australia. In addition, in East Asia and West Asia, where the overall scale of overseas investment is relatively small, overseas investment projects are mainly distributed in South Korea, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries.
Figure 3 Regional distribution of overseas investments by Chinese listed companies in 2022
Based on the analysis of the location characteristics of investment regions, it is found that in 2022, the overseas investment regions of Chinese listed companies are connected to the Southeast Asian economic circle with prominent geographical advantages on one end and the European economic circle with obvious complementary advantages on the other end. Location selection may experience local changes while maintaining overall stability. This is reflected in two aspects: firstly, the diversified distribution of investment regions. At present, China has become a major trading partner for more than 140 countries and regions, attracting foreign investment and outward investment, ranking among the top in the world. In order to fully utilize the two markets and resources, it is inevitable for Chinese listed companies to diversify their outward investment regions. Secondly, the geographical advantages and complementary economic advantages of the investment region are highlighted. Based on the statistical analysis of China Investment Corporation's big data investment database, whether from the perspective of large single overseas investment projects or the total amount of overseas investment, the location selection of overseas investment by Chinese listed companies will not only tilt towards countries and regions with obvious geographical advantages, but also favor countries and regions with relatively high economic development levels and relatively complete markets in order to form economic complementarity and fit national development strategies.
（3） Distribution of Overseas Investment Fields of Chinese Listed Companies in 2022
From the perspective of the industry structure and distribution characteristics of overseas investment by Chinese listed companies, in 2022, the layout of overseas investment industries by Chinese listed companies will be further optimized, and the investment fields will be relatively balanced. For example, it covers sub industries such as metals, equipment manufacturing, energy and power, non-metallic, chemical, construction and infrastructure, information technology and services, textiles, clothing, and apparel. At the same time, overseas investment has returned to rationality. On the basis of maintaining a diversified pattern, the industry concentration of overseas investment is relatively high. For example, in 2022, Chinese listed companies significantly increased their overseas investment in fields such as metals, equipment manufacturing, and energy and power compared to other industries.
As shown in Figure 4, the proportion of overseas investment projects based on the metal industry (28.68%), equipment manufacturing industry (27.84%), and energy and power industry (19.40%) is relatively high, while the scale of overseas investment based on the textile and clothing industry (0.68%), food and beverage industry (0.82%), and information technology and services industry (1.61%) is relatively small. This indicates that the overseas investment industry layout of Chinese listed companies continues to focus on the metal industry and equipment manufacturing industry, which are in a leading position globally, while reducing investment in the textile, clothing, apparel, and food and beverage sectors, gradually forming a layout of "comprehensive opening and focused tilt". The reasons for this characteristic include two aspects. On the one hand, the diversification of investment fields is an important guarantee for China to enhance its level of open economy, strengthen the linkage effect of domestic and international markets and resources, and serve the construction of a new development pattern. At the same time, it is also an important means to better participate in international competition and cooperation, and is the key to promoting the formation of a comprehensive open new pattern. Therefore, the overseas investment fields of listed companies in China still show a trend of diversification overall. On the other hand, with the "the Belt and Road" initiative, new infrastructure and carbon neutral policy guidance, not only the metal industry ushered in a new cycle, but also gave birth to investment opportunities in more fields. For example, China's overseas investment in the metal field is not only an important way to meet the sustained growth of consumer demand and implement long-term national strategic planning, but also a necessary requirement for overseas forward-looking layout of mineral resources with structural scarcity; In addition, compared to other industries, China has rich experience in overseas investment in industries such as metals, equipment manufacturing, and energy and power, which helps to enhance investment confidence of "going global" enterprises. However, the textile and clothing industry is affected by "high costs and weak demand", and overseas investment risks are relatively high. Therefore, Chinese listed companies have relatively less overseas investment in related fields.
Figure 4 Distribution of Overseas Investment Fields of Chinese Listed Companies in 2022
（4） Distribution of Overseas Investment Models of Chinese Listed Companies in 2022
From the perspective of overseas investment models, the overseas investment models of Chinese listed companies can be roughly divided into five categories: independent investment model, joint venture operation model, equity investment model, merger and acquisition model, and capital increase model. As shown in Table 1, among all the overseas investment projects of Chinese listed companies in 2022, a total of 108 chose independent investment mode, 10 chose joint venture operation mode, 13 chose equity investment mode, 19 chose merger and acquisition mode, and 34 chose capital increase mode. Further looking at the investment scale under different investment models, statistics show that the overseas investment scale based on the independent investment model is the largest, reaching 188489 million yuan, accounting for 86.14% of the investment scale; The overseas investment scale based on the merger and acquisition model and capital increase model is second, with RMB 1220.412 million and RMB 924.841 million respectively, accounting for 5.58% and 4.23% of the corresponding investment scale; The investment scale mainly based on joint venture and equity investment models is relatively small, with 7586.25 million yuan and 1283.76 million yuan respectively, and the investment scale does not exceed 4% of the total amount.
表1 2022年中国上市公司海外投资的模式分布
| 表1 2022年中国上市公司海外投资的模式分布 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 投资模式 | 项目数量（个） | 项目数量占比（%） | 投资规模（万元） | 投资规模占比（%） |
| 独立投资 | 108 | 58.70 | 18848900 | 86.14 |
| 合资经营 | 10 | 5.43 | 758625 | 3.47 |
| 股权投资 | 13 | 7.07 | 128376 | 0.59 |
| 并购 | 19 | 10.33 | 1220412 | 5.58 |
| 增资 | 34 | 18.48 | 924841 | 4.23 |
| 资料来源：中投大数据——投资数据库。 | ||||
Excel下载Table 1 Distribution of Overseas Investment Patterns of Chinese Listed Companies in 2022
Characteristics Analysis of Overseas Investment Enterprises of Chinese Listed Companies in 2022
（1） Analysis of Regional Distribution of Overseas Investment Enterprises of Chinese Listed Companies in 2022
Due to the inherent influence of regional economic development level and the geographical distribution characteristics of the number of listed companies, the geographical distribution characteristics of "more in the eastern region and fewer in the western region" of overseas investment enterprises of listed companies in China in 2022 are basically consistent with those in 2021. Overall, in 2022, "going global" investment enterprises will mainly come from the eastern region of China, where the economic development is higher, while the number of overseas investment listed companies registered in the western region, where the economic development is relatively lagging behind, will be significantly fewer, and the ability to drive overseas investment will be relatively weak. Table 2 reports the regional distribution of overseas investment enterprises of Chinese listed companies in 2022.
表2 2022年中国上市公司海外投资企业的区域分布
| 表2 2022年中国上市公司海外投资企业的区域分布 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 类别 | 东部地区 | 中部地区 | 西部地区 |
| 投资规模（万元） | 19318753 | 1938129 | 624272 |
| 投资规模占比（%） | 88.29 | 8.86 | 2.85 |
| 资料来源：中投大数据——投资数据库。 | |||
Excel下载Table 2 Regional Distribution of Overseas Investment Enterprises of Chinese Listed Companies in 2022
As shown in Table 2, from the source of China's overseas investment enterprises, enterprises from the eastern region of China have an overseas investment scale of 193187.53 million yuan (accounting for 88.29%); Enterprises from the central region of China have an overseas investment scale of 1.938129 billion yuan (accounting for 8.86%); The overseas investment scale of enterprises from western China reached 6242.72 million yuan (accounting for 2.85%). It is worth noting that according to the statistics of the Investment Database of China Investment Corporation, there have been no companies from the northeast region of China making overseas investments. This indicates that the overseas investment enterprises of listed companies in China have obvious regional concentration distribution characteristics, and there are significant differences in their overseas investment intensity between different regions. In addition, by subdividing specific provincial data, there are significant differences in the scale of overseas investment between different provinces in the same region. For example, companies from provinces with higher levels of economic development have relatively more overseas investment projects and higher levels of investment scale.
（2） Industry Distribution Analysis of Overseas Investment Enterprises of Chinese Listed Companies in 2022
Figure 5 reports the industry distribution of overseas investment enterprises of Chinese listed companies in 2022, including the proportion of overseas investment enterprises of Chinese listed companies in each industry, as well as the proportion of overseas investment scale of listed companies in different industries. According to statistical data, based on the industry distribution of overseas investment listed companies, according to the industry classification standards of the China Securities Regulatory Commission in 2012, it was found that in 2022, 81.05% of China's overseas investment enterprises came from the manufacturing industry, 3.92% from the mining industry, 3.92% from research and experimental development, and 2.61% from the information technology service industry. However, it is worth noting that the investment scale of overseas investment listed companies in different industry types varies, and there are even significant differences in the total investment scale. Specifically, listed companies originating from the manufacturing industry have the largest investment scale, accounting for 66.11% of the total investment; Next are the mining industry, ecological protection, and environmental governance industry, with investment scales accounting for 26.27% and 3.76% respectively. However, although there are many listed companies in the research and experimental development and information technology services industries, the proportion of overseas investment scales is relatively low.
Figure 5 Industry Distribution of Overseas Investment Enterprises of Chinese Listed Companies in 2022
Overall, with the new opportunities brought by globalization and the continuous expansion of China's opening-up to the outside world, more and more Chinese enterprises are starting to go abroad and explore "going global". At present, the diversified industry structure of China's overseas investment enterprises and the differentiated investment scale between industries indicate that in 2022, China's listed companies' overseas investment enterprises will continue to have the characteristics of diversified industry distribution but uneven category development.
（3） Analysis of Ownership Structure Distribution of Overseas Investment Enterprises of Chinese Listed Companies in 2022
Figure 6 reports the ownership structure distribution of overseas investment enterprises of Chinese listed companies in 2022. According to the type of property rights, this report mainly divides the ownership structure of enterprises into state-owned, private, foreign-funded, and other types of enterprises. From the distribution of ownership structure of overseas investment enterprises of Chinese listed companies in 2022, 77.78% of all overseas investment enterprises are private enterprises; 9.80% are state-owned enterprises; However, the number of foreign-funded and other types of enterprises is relatively small, accounting for 9.15% and 3.27% respectively. Further examination of the overseas investment scale of enterprises with different ownership structures reveals that the proportion of overseas investment scale of private enterprises is 69.40%; The proportion of overseas investment by state-owned enterprises is 23.43%; The proportion of overseas investment by foreign and other types of enterprises is relatively low, at 4.61% and 2.56% respectively.
Figure 6 Ownership Structure Distribution of Overseas Investment Enterprises of Chinese Listed Companies in 2022
It is not difficult to see that in the process of China's overseas investment development in 2022, private enterprises have shown a stronger trend in both the number of "going global" enterprises and investment scale.
Research on Typical Overseas Investment Enterprises of Chinese Listed Companies in 2022
（1） Research on Typical Enterprises Based on Regional Dimensions
1. Eastern Region - Ningde Era
CATL was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2018. As a representative overseas investment enterprise from the eastern region, CATL is a leading global new energy innovation technology company, mainly engaged in the research and development, production, and sales of power batteries and energy storage batteries. At present, CATL has core technological advantages and forward-looking R&D layout in the fields of battery materials, battery systems, battery recycling and other industrial chains. It is committed to providing first-class solutions and services for global new energy applications through material and material system innovation, system structure innovation, green extreme manufacturing innovation and business model innovation. As shown in Table 3, the overseas investment scale of CATL in 2022 is 5070.472 million yuan. Based on an independent investment model, CATL mainly invests in the Hungary Times New Energy Battery Industry Base project.
表3 2022年宁德时代海外投资情况
| 表3 2022年宁德时代海外投资情况 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 单位：万元 | |||||
| 项目序号 | 投资项目名称 | 投资模式 | 投资地区 | 投资规模 | 投资领域 |
| 1 | 时代新能源电池产业基地项目 | 独立投资 | 匈牙利 | 5070472 | 装备制造 |
| 资料来源：中投大数据——投资数据库。 | |||||
Excel下载Table 3 Overseas Investment of CATL in 2022
From the financial situation of CATL from 2020 to 2022, as shown in Figure 7, CATL's performance showed a significant growth trend in 2022, with operating revenue rising from 50.319 billion yuan in 2020 to 328.594 billion yuan in 2022, and net profit rising from 6.104 billion yuan in 2020 to 33.457 billion yuan in 2022.
Figure 7 Financial Status of CATL from 2020 to 2022
2. Central region - Luoyang Molybdenum Industry
Luoyang Molybdenum Industry is one of the top 100 enterprises in Henan Province and one of the 16 key enterprises in Luoyang City. It belongs to the non-ferrous metal mining and beneficiation industry, mainly engaged in mining and processing of basic metals and rare metals, as well as mineral trade business. At present, the company's main business is distributed in Asia, Africa, South America, Oceania, and Europe. Luoyang Molybdenum Industry is a leading global producer of tungsten, cobalt, niobium, molybdenum, and an important copper producer. At the same time, the company's basic metal trading business level ranks among the top in the world. In 2022, the company ranked 20th on the list of the top 40 global mining companies by market capitalization. As shown in Table 4, the overseas investment scale of Luoyang Molybdenum Industry in 2022 is 1223.31 million yuan. Based on an independent investment model, the company mainly invests in the KFM development project (oxidized ore, mixed ore) project (Phase I).
表4 2022年洛阳钼业海外投资情况
| 表4 2022年洛阳钼业海外投资情况 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 单位：万元 | |||||
| 项目序号 | 投资项目名称 | 投资模式 | 投资地区 | 投资规模 | 投资领域 |
| 1 | KFM开发项目（氧化矿、混合矿）工程（一期） | 独立投资 | 刚果（金） | 1223310 | 金属 |
| 资料来源：中投大数据——投资数据库。 | |||||
Excel下载Table 4 Overseas Investment of Luoyang Molybdenum Industry in 2022
From the financial situation of Luoyang Molybdenum Industry from 2020 to 2022, as shown in Figure 8, Luoyang Molybdenum Industry performed well in 2022, with operating revenue increasing from 112.981 billion yuan in 2020 to 172.991 billion yuan in 2022, and net profit rapidly rising from 2.479 billion yuan in 2020 to 7.192 billion yuan in 2022.
Figure 8 Financial Status of Luoyang Molybdenum Industry from 2020 to 2022
3. Western Region - Yahua Group
The main business of Yahua Group includes two major segments: civil explosive business and lithium business. The civil explosive business mainly includes the production and sales of civil explosive products, engineering blasting services, etc. Civil explosive products mainly include industrial explosives, industrial detonators, and industrial pyrotechnic products. The products are widely used in mining, transportation construction, urban transformation, geological exploration, explosive processing, and national defense construction. The products of the lithium business sector mainly include lithium hydroxide, lithium carbonate and other lithium series products. The company's lithium products are widely used in the fields of new energy, medicine and new materials. In 2019, the company's gross domestic product ranked fifth in the industry, and its annual production of industrial detonators ranked second in the industry. In the lithium industry, the company is in a leading position and is one of the developers of the national standard for battery grade lithium hydroxide in the industry. The company has been awarded honorary titles such as Top 100 Private Enterprises in Sichuan, Top 100 Listed Companies in Sichuan Brand Index, and National Model Enterprise with Harmonious Labor Relations. As shown in Table 5, the overseas investment scale of YAHUA Group in 2022 is 104.055 million yuan. Based on the merger and acquisition model, the company mainly invests in 70% equity of a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Africa Industrial Group.
表5 2022年雅化集团海外投资情况
| 表5 2022年雅化集团海外投资情况 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 单位：万元 | |||||
| 项目序号 | 投资项目名称 | 投资模式 | 投资地区 | 投资规模 | 投资领域 |
| 1 | 中非实业全资子公司70%股权 | 并购 | 纳米比亚 | 104055 | 化工 |
| 资料来源：中投大数据——投资数据库。 | |||||
Excel下载Table 5 Overseas Investment of YAHUA Group in 2022
From the financial situation of YAHUA Group from 2020 to 2022, as shown in Figure 9, YAHUA Group's performance showed a significant growth trend in 2022, with operating revenue gradually increasing from 3.25 billion yuan in 2020 to 14.457 billion yuan in 2022, and net profit increasing from 345 million yuan in 2020 to 4.631 billion yuan in 2022.
Figure 9 Financial Status of YAHUA Group from 2020 to 2022
（2） Research on Typical Enterprises Based on Industry Dimensions
1. Manufacturing Industry - JA Solar Technology
JA Solar is a new energy power generation solution platform enterprise, with the silicon wafer solar cell module industry chain as the main body, and the photovoltaic auxiliary materials and equipment industry, photovoltaic and application scenario solutions as the two wings, continuously promoting the "one body, two wings" strategy. Officially launched in the A-share market in 2019. JA Solar has established 13 sales companies overseas, providing green photovoltaic products and services to 135 countries and regions worldwide. Its global layout has obvious advantages, and its products are widely used in ground photovoltaic power stations, as well as distributed photovoltaic systems for industrial, commercial, and residential purposes. With continuous technological innovation, robust financial advantages, and a developed global sales and service network, JA Solar Technology has been widely recognized by domestic and foreign customers, and has been listed on the "Fortune China 500" and "Global New Energy Enterprise 500" lists for many years. As shown in Table 6, JA Solar's overseas investment scale in 2022 is 1202.53 million yuan. Based on an independent investment model, the company mainly invests in 2.5GW Lajing and slicing projects in Vietnam.
表6 2022年晶澳科技海外投资情况
| 表6 2022年晶澳科技海外投资情况 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 单位：万元 | |||||
| 项目序号 | 投资项目名称 | 投资模式 | 投资地区 | 投资规模 | 投资领域 |
| 1 | 越南2.5GW拉晶及切片项目 | 独立投资 | 越南 | 120253 | 装备制造 |
| 资料来源：中投大数据——投资数据库。 | |||||
Excel下载Table 6 Overseas Investment of JA Solar Technology in 2022
From the financial situation of JA Solar from 2020 to 2022, as shown in Figure 10, JA Solar's performance showed a significant growth trend in 2022, with operating revenue gradually increasing from 25.847 billion yuan in 2020 to 72.989 billion yuan in 2022, and net profit rising from 1.548 billion yuan in 2020 to 5.54 billion yuan in 2022.
Figure 10 Financial Status of JA Solar from 2020 to 2022
2. Nonferrous metal mining and beneficiation industry - Zijin Mining
Zijin Mining is a large multinational mining group engaged in the exploration, development, engineering design, and technical application research of metal mineral resources such as copper, gold, zinc, and lithium worldwide. At present, Zijin Mining has important mining investment projects in 17 provinces across the country and 15 countries overseas. As of the end of 2022, the company's main indicators such as proven, controlled, and inferred resources are leading in China. The company ranks 284th on Forbes' list of global listed companies in 2023, 1st among global gold companies and 6th among global metal mining companies, and has been shortlisted for Forbes' Top 50 China Sustainable Development Industrial Enterprises; Ranked 373rd in Fortune Global 500 and 51st in Fortune China's Top 500 Listed Companies. As shown in Table 7, the overseas investment scale of Zijin Mining in 2022 was RMB 4548.73 million. The company invested in the Rosebel gold mine project in Suriname and the Aurora gold mine project in Guyana based on independent investment and merger models, respectively.
表7 2022年紫金矿业海外投资情况
| 表7 2022年紫金矿业海外投资情况 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 单位：万元 | |||||
| 项目序号 | 投资项目名称 | 投资模式 | 投资地区 | 投资规模 | 投资领域 |
| 1 | Rosebel金矿项目 | 独立投资 | 苏里南 | 255909 | 金属 |
| 2 | 奥罗拉金矿地采一期工程项目 | 并购 | 圭亚那 | 198964 | 金属 |
| 资料来源：中投大数据——投资数据库。 | |||||
Excel下载Table 7 Overseas Investment of Zijin Mining in 2022
From the financial situation of Zijin Mining from 2020 to 2022, as shown in Figure 11, Zijin Mining's performance showed a significant growth trend in 2022, with operating revenue rapidly increasing from 171.501 billion yuan in 2020 to 270.329 billion yuan in 2022, and net profit rising from 8.458 billion yuan in 2020 to 24.767 billion yuan in 2022.
Figure 11 Financial Status of Zijin Mining from 2020 to 2022
（3） Research on Typical Enterprises Based on the Dimension of Ownership Structure
1. State owned enterprise - CNOOC Development
CNOOC Development is a listed company controlled by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), focusing on offshore and onshore oil and gas production. It is committed to developing into a world-class energy technology service company with Chinese characteristics, leading industries such as improving oil and gas recovery, equipment manufacturing and operation, and FPSO integrated services. The company actively grasps the trend of energy transformation, implements the goals of "peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality", accelerates the development of low-carbon environmental protection and digital industries, and is committed to becoming the driving force and main force for the development of green industries and the construction of digitalization and intelligence in the offshore oil industry. As shown in Table 8, the overseas investment scale of CNOOC Development in 2022 is 7872.77 million yuan. Based on an independent investment model, the company mainly invests in the Singapore LNG transport ship project.
表8 2022年海油发展海外投资情况
| 表8 2022年海油发展海外投资情况 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 单位：万元 | |||||
| 项目序号 | 投资项目名称 | 投资模式 | 投资地区 | 投资规模 | 投资领域 |
| 1 | LNG运输船项目 | 独立投资 | 新加坡 | 787277 | 能源电力 |
| 资料来源：中投大数据——投资数据库。 | |||||
Excel下载Table 8 Overseas Investment Situation of CNOOC Development in 2022
From the financial situation of CNOOC Development from 2020 to 2022, as shown in Figure 12, CNOOC Development's performance showed a significant growth trend in 2022, with operating revenue gradually increasing from 33.208 billion yuan in 2020 to 47.784 billion yuan in 2022, and net profit rising from 1.602 billion yuan in 2020 to 2.497 billion yuan in 2022.
Figure 12 Financial Status of CNOOC Development from 2020 to 2022
2. Private enterprise - Weiming Environmental Protection
Weiming Environmental Protection is a large joint-stock enterprise dedicated to environmental governance, high-end equipment research and development, and new material research and development. It was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2015 and has been awarded titles such as "Backbone Enterprise of China Environmental Protection Industry Association" and "Top 100 Value Listed Companies on the Main Board of China". It has been selected as a constituent stock of the Shanghai Stock Exchange 380 Index and a target company of the Shanghai Hong Kong Stock Connect. At the same time, it has also been included in the MSCI China A-share list, the S&P Dow Jones Index A-share list, and the FTSE Russell A-share list. As shown in Table 9, the overseas investment scale of Weiming Environmental Protection in 2022 is 781805 million yuan. The company mainly invests in high nickel projects in Singapore and Indonesia based on joint venture and independent investment models.
表9 2022年伟明环保海外投资情况
| 表9 2022年伟明环保海外投资情况 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 单位：万元 | |||||
| 项目序号 | 投资项目名称 | 投资模式 | 投资地区 | 投资规模 | 投资领域 |
| 1 | 高冰镍项目 | 合资经营 | 新加坡 | 312645 | 金属 |
| 2 | 高冰镍项目 | 独立投资 | 印度尼西亚 | 247260 | 金属 |
| 3 | 高冰镍项目 | 独立投资 | 印度尼西亚 | 173900 | 金属 |
| 4 | 高冰镍项目 | 独立投资 | 印度尼西亚 | 48000 | 金属 |
| 资料来源：中投大数据——投资数据库。 | |||||
Excel下载Table 9 Overseas Investment of Weiming Environmental Protection in 2022
From the financial situation of Weiming Environmental Protection from 2020 to 2022, as shown in Figure 13, Weiming Environmental Protection relied on its main business and active overseas investment layout to achieve outstanding performance in 2022. The company's operating revenue gradually increased from 3.123 billion yuan in 2020 to 4.446 billion yuan in 2022, and its net profit increased from 1.256 billion yuan in 2020 to 1.671 billion yuan in 2022.
Figure 13 Financial Status of Weiming Environmental Protection from 2020 to 2022
3. Foreign funded enterprise - Blue Lithium Battery
There have been no significant changes in the logistics supply chain services of metal materials mainly engaged in by Blue Lithium, including warehousing, sorting, nesting, packaging, distribution, and corresponding technical support services. Starting from 2011, the company gradually entered the field of LED epitaxial wafers and chip manufacturing in the semiconductor industry. In April 2016, the company acquired Jiangsu Lvwei Lithium Energy Co., Ltd. and entered the lithium battery industry. Since then, the company has formed an overall business pattern where metal logistics, LED, and lithium batteries coexist. As shown in Table 10, the overseas investment scale of Azure Lithium Battery in 2022 is RMB 200.3 million. Based on an independent investment model, the company mainly invests in the 10GWh cylindrical lithium battery manufacturing project in Malaysia.
表10 2022年蔚蓝锂芯海外投资情况
| 表10 2022年蔚蓝锂芯海外投资情况 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 单位：万元 | |||||
| 项目序号 | 投资项目名称 | 投资模式 | 投资地区 | 投资规模 | 投资领域 |
| 1 | 10GWh圆柱锂电池制造项目 | 独立投资 | 马来西亚 | 200300 | 装备制造 |
| 资料来源：中投大数据——投资数据库。 | |||||
Excel下载Table 10 Overseas Investment of Azure Lithium Battery in 2022
From the financial situation of Blue Lithium from 2020 to 2022, as shown in Figure 14, the operating revenue of Blue Lithium increased from 4.25 billion yuan in 2020 to 6.285 billion yuan in 2022, and the net profit increased from 281 million yuan in 2020 to 407 million yuan in 2022.
Figure 14 Financial Status of Blue Lithium from 2020 to 2022
2022 Top 100 Overseas Investment Rankings of Chinese Listed Companies and Analysis of Changes
（1） 2022 Top 100 Overseas Investment Rankings of Chinese Listed Companies
According to the Investment Database of China Investment Corporation's Big Data, the overall scale of overseas investment of "going global" enterprises that were listed in the top 100 overseas investment rankings of Chinese listed companies in 2022 reached 216.259 billion yuan, an increase of 116.65% compared to 2021. Table 11 and Figure 15 respectively report the overseas investment scale of the shortlisted enterprises in 2022, as well as the signing of cooperation documents on the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" between the overseas investment location and China.
表11 2022年中国上市公司海外投资100强排行榜
| 表11 2022年中国上市公司海外投资100强排行榜 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 单位：万元 | ||
| 排名 | 企业名称 | 投资规模 |
| 1 | 宁德时代 | 5070472 |
| 2 | 中国海油 | 3135870 |
| 3 | 华友钴业 | 1623773 |
| 4 | 洛阳钼业 | 1223310 |
| 5 | 海油发展 | 787277 |
| 6 | 伟明环保 | 781805 |
| 7 | 森麒麟 | 588356 |
| 8 | 赛轮轮胎 | 530016 |
| 9 | 怡球资源 | 463102 |
| 10 | 紫金矿业 | 454873 |
| 11 | 中国电建 | 448810 |
| 12 | 中伟股份 | 422767 |
| 13 | 旗滨集团 | 397000 |
| 14 | 道氏技术 | 369887 |
| 15 | 贝特瑞 | 319982 |
| 16 | 中矿资源 | 281579 |
| 17 | 英科医疗 | 267880 |
| 18 | 复星医药 | 260828 |
| 19 | 格林美 | 254381 |
| 20 | 甬金股份 | 213254 |
| 21 | 福耀玻璃 | 206970 |
| 22 | 蔚蓝锂芯 | 200300 |
| 23 | 玲珑轮胎 | 170109 |
| 24 | 仙乐健康 | 167535 |
| 25 | 福斯特 | 151860 |
| 26 | 晶科科技 | 132798 |
| 27 | 晶澳科技 | 120253 |
| 28 | 四通新材 | 115600 |
| 29 | 海南矿业 | 114200 |
| 30 | 雅化集团 | 104055 |
| 31 | 伟星股份 | 86981 |
| 32 | 岱美股份 | 82341 |
| 33 | 英科再生 | 80000 |
| 34 | 容百科技 | 79166 |
| 35 | 星源材质 | 71665 |
| 36 | 伊利股份 | 69030 |
| 37 | 海优新材 | 64723 |
| 38 | 华通线缆 | 57459 |
| 39 | 银都股份 | 56385 |
| 40 | 中京电子 | 55000 |
| 41 | 祥鑫科技 | 54855 |
| 42 | 英飞特 | 52144 |
| 43 | 中富电路 | 50047 |
| 44 | 宝钢包装 | 49900 |
| 45 | 华懋科技 | 49782 |
| 46 | 瑞泰新材 | 48383 |
| 47 | 赛腾股份 | 47415 |
| 48 | 科达洁能 | 45306 |
| 49 | 深圳能源 | 42651 |
| 50 | 天振股份 | 41100 |
| 51 | 盛泰集团 | 40188 |
| 52 | 家联科技 | 39200 |
| 53 | 凯莱英 | 36844 |
| 54 | 北新建材 | 36056 |
| 55 | 建龙微纳 | 35400 |
| 56 | 乐歌股份 | 34686 |
| 57 | 昭衍新药 | 34411 |
| 58 | 欧圣电气 | 34000 |
| 59 | 万和电气 | 33300 |
| 60 | 中曼石油 | 32184 |
| 61 | 中国天楹 | 31770 |
| 62 | 沪电股份 | 31527 |
| 63 | 泉峰汽车 | 29600 |
| 64 | 耐普矿机 | 28716 |
| 65 | 兴通股份 | 24155 |
| 66 | 神州细胞 | 23869 |
| 67 | 润丰股份 | 23839 |
| 68 | 博威合金 | 23100 |
| 69 | 会通股份 | 23000 |
| 70 | 环旭电子 | 22284 |
| 71 | 鲁泰A | 22220 |
| 72 | 沪光股份 | 20915 |
| 73 | 征和工业 | 20357 |
| 74 | 盛航股份 | 20343 |
| 75 | 南模生物 | 20114 |
| 76 | 吉鑫科技 | 20000 |
| 77 | 福昕软件 | 19000 |
| 78 | 密尔克卫 | 18500 |
| 79 | 盛和资源 | 17890 |
| 80 | 熵基科技 | 17392 |
| 81 | 微光股份 | 16747 |
| 82 | 聚胶股份 | 16630 |
| 83 | 恒光股份 | 15000 |
| 84 | 海程邦达 | 14350 |
| 85 | 英力股份 | 13950 |
| 86 | 电魂网络 | 13507 |
| 87 | 华意压缩 | 13494 |
| 88 | 威唐工业 | 13370 |
| 89 | 华明装备 | 12724 |
| 90 | 国轩高科 | 12012 |
| 91 | 朗科智能 | 12000 |
| 92 | 瑞玛工业 | 11632 |
| 93 | 百普赛斯 | 11500 |
| 94 | 青鸟消防 | 11369 |
| 95 | 瑞可达 | 10885 |
| 96 | 日月股份 | 10675 |
| 97 | 新大洲A | 10032 |
| 98 | 康众医疗 | 9507 |
| 99 | 天奈科技 | 9213 |
| 100 | 华依科技 | 9201 |
| 资料来源：中投大数据——投资数据库。 | ||
Excel下载Table 11 Top 100 Overseas Investment Companies of Chinese Listed Companies in 2022
Figure 15 The signing of cooperation documents for the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" in 2022 at the overseas investment locations of Chinese listed companies
Further, among the shortlisted overseas investment enterprises, 66 overseas investment locations of listed companies signed cooperation documents with China to jointly build the "the Belt and Road", with an investment scale of 192.785 billion yuan; However, 34 overseas investment locations of listed companies have not signed cooperation documents with China to jointly build the "the Belt and Road", with an investment scale of 23.474 billion yuan. It is not difficult to find that in terms of the total scale of overseas investment, the shortlisted companies are the backbone driving the development of China's overseas investment, accounting for approximately 98.84% of the total overseas investment of listed companies in China; From the perspective of overseas investment location selection, more enterprises tend to "go global" relying on the "the Belt and Road" platform, which also fully demonstrates the positive demonstration effect of existing multilateral cooperation mechanisms.
（2） Change analysis
1. Analysis of changes in the entry threshold
As mentioned earlier, against the backdrop of a significant increase in the overall scale of overseas investment by Chinese listed companies in 2022, compared to the entry threshold for the 2021 Top 100 Overseas Investment Rankings of Chinese listed companies, the entry threshold for the 2022 Top 100 Overseas Investment Rankings of Chinese listed companies has slightly decreased from 96 million yuan to 92 million yuan, and the entry threshold has remained relatively stable. Through analysis of the shortlisted companies, this report believes that the reasons for this characteristic include two aspects. On the one hand, from the perspective of China's macroeconomic environment, as the world's second largest economy, thanks to a sound and resilient industrial chain system, a broad market, and effective macro-control policy support, although affected by multiple factors such as the COVID-19 and global geopolitical conflicts, compared with major economies in the world, China's economic recovery has achieved remarkable results. On the basis of China's accelerating the high-level opening of the capital market, the convenience of domestic and foreign investment has been greatly improved, and the enthusiasm of Chinese listed companies to "go out" and "bring in" is recovering. On the other hand, from the perspective of the composition of overseas investment enterprises, influenced by the diversified characteristics of overseas investment layout, the investment fields and overall strength levels of overseas investment enterprises are uneven. The growth points of overseas investment scale come more from the "top enterprises" and key areas of various industries, while enterprises with low overall strength or relatively new investment fields will significantly reduce their overseas investment scale in order to reduce investment risks and uncertainties, resulting in the characteristics of "strong overall strength and large internal differences" among the shortlisted enterprises, and ultimately leading to a low threshold for shortlisting.
2. Analysis of changes in regional distribution of shortlisted enterprises
From the changes in the geographical distribution of the shortlisted enterprises, it can be seen that the "going global" enterprises that were shortlisted in 2022 have generally continued the basic characteristics of geographical distribution in 2021. While maintaining the basic distribution characteristics of "more in the eastern region and less in the western region", there have also been some new changes in structural changes. Table 12 mainly reports the specific changes in the geographical distribution of shortlisted enterprises from 2021 to 2022, as well as the investment scale of shortlisted enterprises in 2022.
表12 2021～2022年中国上市公司海外投资100强的地域分布
| 表12 2021～2022年中国上市公司海外投资100强的地域分布 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 单位：家，万元 | ||||
| 分布地区 | 2021年入围企业数量 | 2022年入围企业数量 | 增减变动情况 | 2022年入围企业投资规模 |
| 东部 | 80 | 86 | 6 | 19117471 |
| 中部 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 1894680 |
| 西部 | 9 | 4 | -5 | 613742 |
| 东北部 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 0 |
| 资料来源：中投大数据——投资数据库。 | ||||
Excel下载Table 12 Regional Distribution of Top 100 Overseas Investment Companies of Chinese Listed Companies in 2021-2022
As shown in Table 12, in terms of the number of shortlisted companies, companies from the eastern region have a clear numerical advantage, while companies from other regions (such as the western and central regions) have fewer numbers, and there is also a significant gap in the ability and scale of outward investment compared to companies from the eastern region. Specifically, in the 2022 ranking, there are a total of 86 overseas investment listed companies from the eastern region, an increase of 6 compared to 2021, with an investment scale of 191174.71 million yuan, mainly concentrated in coastal provinces such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Shandong, and Zhejiang in the eastern region; A total of 10 overseas investment listed companies are from the central region, with no increase or decrease compared to 2021. The investment scale is 18946.8 million yuan, mainly concentrated in central provinces such as Henan and Anhui; There are a total of 4 overseas investment listed companies from the western region, a decrease of 5 compared to 2021, with an investment scale of 613.742 million yuan; At the same time, according to the Investment Database of China Investment Corporation, there have been no shortlisted companies from the Northeast region. From the trend of changes in the geographical distribution of shortlisted enterprises, to some extent, this geographical distribution pattern of "more in the eastern region and less in the western region" is basically consistent with the characteristics of the economic development level in the eastern and western regions of China.
3. Analysis of changes in industry distribution of shortlisted companies
In order to encourage and support capable and qualified industries and enterprises in China to actively and steadily carry out overseas investment activities, strengthen investment cooperation with overseas high-tech enterprises and advanced manufacturing enterprises, in recent years, China has actively introduced relevant policies on industrial policies, regulatory requirements, financing support, and other aspects related to overseas investment layout. In this context, relying on the needs of the enterprise's own development strategy and changes in the domestic and foreign investment environment, the industry structure adjustment of overseas investment enterprises is also facing new opportunities. Table 13 reports the industry distribution of the top 100 overseas investments by Chinese listed companies from 2021 to 2022.
表13 2021～2022年中国上市公司海外投资100强的行业分布
| 表13 2021～2022年中国上市公司海外投资100强的行业分布 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 单位：家，万元 | ||||
| 所属行业 | 2021年入围企业数量 | 2022年入围企业数量 | 增减变动情况 | 2022年入围企业投资规模 |
| 采矿业 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 5747714 |
| 制造业 | 77 | 79 | 2 | 14254433 |
| 电力、热力生产和供应业 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 175449 |
| 土木工程建筑业 | 2 | 1 | -1 | 448810 |
| 批发零售业 | 3 | 0 | -3 | 0 |
| 水上运输业 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 62998 |
| 住宿业 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 0 |
| 信息技术服务业 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 32507 |
| 商务服务业 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14350 |
| 研究和试验发展 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 66025 |
| 生态保护和环境治理业 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 813575 |
| 综合 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10032 |
| 资料来源：中投大数据——投资数据库。 | ||||
Excel下载Table 13 Industry Distribution of Top 100 Overseas Investment Companies of Chinese Listed Companies in 2021-2022
As shown in Table 13, in terms of the number of companies, among the top 100 overseas investment companies of Chinese listed companies in 2022, a total of 79 companies are from the manufacturing industry, 6 companies are from the mining industry, 3 companies are from the water transportation industry, and 3 companies are from research and experimental development. The number of shortlisted companies in other industries is relatively small, mainly including the power and heat production and supply industry, information technology services industry, ecological protection and environmental governance industry, etc. This indicates that among all industries, manufacturing enterprises have the strongest willingness and enthusiasm to "go global", accounting for 80% of the number of "go global" enterprises. Listed companies in the mining and beneficiation industry, represented by non-ferrous metals, are also an important component of overseas investment enterprises. From the perspective of industry distribution changes, compared to the industry distribution of shortlisted enterprises in 2021, the industries with the largest changes in China's overseas investment enterprises in 2022 are wholesale and retail and manufacturing, with an increase of 2 manufacturing enterprises and a decrease of 3 wholesale and retail enterprises. From the perspective of overseas investment scale of enterprises in different industries, there are also significant differences in investment scale from enterprises in different industries. For example, manufacturing enterprises have the largest investment scale of 142544.33 million yuan, while the ecological protection and environmental governance industry, although having a small number of shortlisted enterprises, has shown impressive investment scale of 813.575 million yuan.
This report suggests that there may be several reasons for the changes in industry distribution mentioned above. Firstly, in 2022, the added value of China's manufacturing industry accounted for nearly 30% of the global total, and the scale of the manufacturing industry has ranked first in the world for 13 consecutive years. Against the backdrop of the country's encouragement and support for high-end manufacturing to aim at the international forefront and actively participate in high-level international competition, relying on their own comparative advantages with the industry, manufacturing enterprises can fully leverage their international competitive advantages. Secondly, due to the differences in domestic resource endowments and the anti globalization trend and investment review restrictions in Western countries, the mining industry is also a key focus of China's overseas investment in order to strengthen the development of overseas resource investment and enhance the supply guarantee capability of strategic mineral resources. At the same time, in order to reduce the risks of overseas investment, the investment enthusiasm of enterprises in industries such as information technology services has been significantly suppressed. Finally, in recent years, China has closely followed the trend of the times, actively assumed the responsibility of a great power, demonstrated its sense of responsibility as a great power, and achieved a significant transformation from a participant in global environmental governance to a leader. For example, deep participation in global climate governance, leading the global biodiversity governance process, promoting global green and low-carbon development, jointly building a green "the Belt and Road" and strengthening the environmental management of overseas projects, therefore, the scale of overseas investment of enterprises in the ecological protection and environmental governance industry is impressive.
4. Analysis of changes in ownership structure distribution of shortlisted enterprises
From the perspective of the ownership structure characteristics of the shortlisted companies, among the 100 listed companies, private enterprises are the main force for China's overseas investment, followed by foreign-funded enterprises and state-owned enterprises. Specifically, a total of 73 private enterprises, 13 foreign-funded enterprises, 11 state-owned enterprises, and 3 other types of enterprises were included in the list.
As shown in Table 14, the top 100 Chinese listed companies for overseas investment in 2022 are mainly private enterprises with an investment scale of 14975298 million yuan, a decrease of 6 enterprises compared to the same period last year; The number of foreign-funded enterprises shortlisted is 13, with an investment scale of 10017.56 million yuan, and the number of enterprises has increased by 9 compared to the same period last year; Although the number of state-owned enterprises shortlisted was 11, a decrease of 3 compared to the same period last year, the investment scale was 51042.34 million yuan, far exceeding the investment scale of foreign-funded enterprises. Overall, compared to the previous year, there have been significant changes in the ownership structure and corresponding investment scale of China's overseas investment enterprises in 2022, but they are still dominated by private enterprises.
表14 2021～2022年中国上市公司海外投资100强的所有制结构分布
| 表14 2021～2022年中国上市公司海外投资100强的所有制结构分布 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 单位：家，万元 | ||||
| 所有制结构 | 2021年入围数量 | 2022年入围数量 | 增减变动情况 | 2022年入围企业投资规模 |
| 国有企业 | 14 | 11 | -3 | 5104234 |
| 民营企业 | 79 | 73 | -6 | 14975298 |
| 外资企业 | 4 | 13 | 9 | 1001756 |
| 其他类型企业 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 544605 |
| 资料来源：中投大数据——投资数据库。 | ||||
Excel下载Table 14 Ownership Structure Distribution of the Top 100 Overseas Investment Companies of Chinese Listed Companies in 2021-2022
This report believes that the formation of the ownership structure of overseas investment enterprises is mainly based on the number of private enterprises in the capital market. With the active formulation of the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Promoting the Development and Growth of the Private Economy and encouraging private enterprises to expand overseas business, private enterprises are still highly motivated to participate in the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" and orderly participate in overseas projects. Moreover, state-owned enterprises can effectively rely on their own capital advantages and scale advantages to engage in investment activities on the basis of matching the national overseas investment strategic layout. At the same time, foreign-funded enterprises have unique advantages in connecting domestic and international markets, especially in the complex international investment environment, where their overseas investment advantages are more prominent. Therefore, the number of shortlisted companies shows a clear upward trend.
Five prospects and suggestions
（1） Outlook
In 2022, under the influence of unexpected factors such as the continuous downturn of the global economy, the ups and downs of the COVID-19, and the escalation of geopolitical conflicts, the overseas investment environment will remain complex and highly uncertain. Overall, in 2022, while maintaining overall policy continuity and stability, there were also localized structural changes and adjustments in the overseas investments of Chinese listed companies, mainly manifested in three aspects. One is to adhere to high-level opening-up and diversify investment layout. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly stated that we should continue to "implement a more proactive opening-up strategy, build a high standard free trade zone network facing the world... and form a larger, wider, and deeper pattern of opening-up to the outside world." Against this backdrop, in order to build a diversified, balanced, safe, and efficient open economic system, enhance new advantages in international economic cooperation and competition, China's "going abroad" enterprises are gradually becoming more diversified in terms of investment entities, investment regions, investment fields, and investment models. Secondly, the awareness of risk prevention continues to strengthen, and investment returns to rationality. Currently, the world is undergoing a great transformation not seen in a century, and the external environment for regional cooperation is becoming more complex, severe, and ambiguous. Especially in the context of unilateralism and anti globalization trends pursued by some developed Western countries, the risk of global industrial and supply chain disruptions is intensifying. Compared to the previous accelerated expansion model of "going global", the overseas investment behavior of Chinese enterprises is gradually returning to rationality. For example, the overseas investment layout pays more attention to manufacturing industries with prominent comparative advantages and mining industries with higher national strategic resource demands. Thirdly, the level of internationalization varies greatly, and the investment force is' large but not strong '. Against the backdrop of a difficult global economic recovery, compared to other important economies in the world, Chinese enterprises have shown impressive performance in overseas investment, with investment scale growing against the trend and achieving significant results in multiple countries and regions. Their strength and experience in overseas investment have made significant progress. However, from the perspective of the hierarchy of overseas investment enterprises, the strength of overseas investment comes more from the "leading enterprises" in key industries. Due to factors such as overseas investment experience and their own strength, the uneven internationalization level of China's "going global" enterprises is more prominent.
Based on the overall overview of overseas investment by Chinese listed companies in 2022, combined with the new pattern of China's economic development and the new situation of the international investment environment, although domestic enterprises in China face new challenges in "going global", they also have new development opportunities. Firstly, in terms of overseas investment policy opportunities, China is building a new development pattern around services, focusing on institutional opening up and taking more proactive actions to promote high-level opening-up and develop a higher-level open economy. For example, starting from January 1, 2022, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) officially came into effect, bringing market opening opportunities for "going global" enterprises. Some provinces in China have also begun to steadily expand institutional opening up, encouraging and supporting pioneering efforts and breakthroughs in several key cutting-edge fields. In addition, in 2023, China will lead over 110 member representatives to facilitate the world's first multilateral investment negotiation, the Investment Facilitation Agreement. Relevant policies will greatly enhance the stability and predictability of global investment regulatory policies, boosting global investor confidence. Secondly, in terms of geographical advantages of regional cooperation, international public goods and international cooperation platforms represented by China's pilot free trade zone, Hainan Free Trade Port and the "the Belt and Road" initiative have been widely recognized by the international community, leading to the continuous release of demonstration effects. At present, China has signed more than 200 cooperation documents with 152 countries and 32 international organizations to jointly build the "the Belt and Road". The countries that jointly build the "the Belt and Road" have different resource endowments and strong economic complementarities. Their cooperation potential and space provide convenient conditions for Chinese enterprises to "go global". Finally, in terms of overseas investment experience reference, the comprehensive (location selection), multi-level (project scale), and wide-ranging (industry distribution) characteristics of overseas investment activities of listed companies in China enable Chinese enterprises to deeply participate in and understand international competition. The rich investment experience accumulated by them provides experience reference for other enterprises to carry out overseas investment portfolios.
（2） Suggestion
1. Continuously monitor the Southeast Asian and European markets to enhance the role of engines in power source regions
Nowadays, the world is experiencing unprecedented changes. In pursuit of narrow self-interest, some developed Western countries have regained their unilateralism and continuously set up trade barriers, posing severe challenges to the international trade situation. To cope with global trade frictions and geopolitical uncertainty risks, countries and regions that highlight their geopolitical advantages and complementary strengths are increasingly becoming a broad consensus for cross regional cooperation in the international community. Taking the location selection and overall trend of China's overseas investment in 2022 as an example, currently China's listed companies mainly carry out overseas investment and international trade activities around countries and regions with high political mutual trust and strong economic complementarity. In particular, relying on the regional economic cooperation platform represented by the "the Belt and Road" initiative, the investment cooperation between China and overseas investment host countries continues to heat up, and the investment layout has been implemented in a wider range, broader fields and deeper levels. Therefore, deepening bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms and continuously unleashing the leading demonstration effect of existing cooperation platforms will help radiate and drive other countries and business organizations, thereby achieving the effect of big leading small and point leading chain. From the perspective of further enhancing the engine role of power source regions, it is necessary for China to actively adapt to the trend of regional economic integration and work with willing countries and regions to build mutually beneficial and win-win free trade zones. For example, taking the Southeast Asian and European market cooperation models as examples, a multilateral, diversified, and multi-level cooperation mechanism should be constructed to continuously stimulate endogenous development momentum, including local enterprises and cooperating countries, in order to avoid trade difficulties caused by geopolitical conflicts and other factors, and further expand new development potential for joint construction and cooperation platforms, and continuously empower high-quality development of overseas investment.
2. Fully leverage the investment advantages of the manufacturing industry and accelerate the formation of a new pattern of multipolar development
International competitive advantage is an important foundation for a country to participate in international division of labor and gain international benefits. In the face of the increasingly fierce international competitive environment, clarifying the sources, formation, and transformation process of local enterprises' international competitive advantage will be related to the high-quality "going global" and international influence enhancement of local enterprises. In 2022, the overseas investment scale of listed companies in China rapidly expanded, but also gradually exposed the shortcomings of "large but not strong" and homogeneous competition. For example, in terms of the driving force of overseas investment, more of China's "going global" enterprises come from the manufacturing industry, and the number of international competitions in key areas and major projects by enterprises in other industries is still relatively small. In addition, from the perspective of overseas investment, the investment field mainly focused on equipment manufacturing is the key to China's overseas investment layout. Reshaping new international competitive advantages based on China's existing broad field and multi-level open pattern, especially relying on local resource endowments, to create new highlights in investment layout, is an important direction for the high-quality development of China's overseas investment in the future. Specifically, regarding cultivating international competitive advantages and accelerating the formation of a key and multi-point support pattern, efforts should be made to do the following. Firstly, it is necessary to continuously enhance the international competitiveness awareness of manufacturing enterprises, strengthen technological and institutional innovation in foreign investment, form core technologies, independent brands, and business models with international competitiveness, continuously improve product quality and enterprise management capabilities, vigorously develop local multinational corporations, and form competitive advantages in products and enterprises. Secondly, based on the current layout characteristics of China's "going global" enterprises' key promotion and hierarchical development, we should further encourage and support qualified enterprises to invest in high-tech products, high value-added links, and service industries, improve the spillover effects of foreign investment, promote China's leap from the middle and low ends of the global value chain to the high ends, and form industrial competitive advantages. Finally, based on the actual supply and demand of the international market, in addition to relatively mature investment fields such as equipment manufacturing, we should actively open up new fields and win new tracks, accelerate the cultivation of new competitive advantages in other industries in the future, and promote future industries to become new increments for high-quality development of overseas investment.
3. Mobilize efforts to leverage the leading role of private enterprises and encourage various types of enterprises to actively "go global"
Relying on the important market position of China's private economy and the comparative advantages of enterprise ownership in flexibility and innovation, in recent years, China's private enterprises have been in a clear "leading" position in high-tech and emerging sub sectors, and have become an important force in optimizing China's national economic structure and promoting high-quality economic development. As of 2022, the number and scale of private enterprises in China have exceeded 47 million, among which the number of private listed companies has exceeded 3000. Moreover, from the perspective of the number of companies listed in the "Fortune Global 500", the number of private enterprises listed in China has also shown an increasing trend. Especially from the perspective of the number and scale of overseas investment enterprises of private listed companies in China in 2022, private enterprises have become the "vanguard" of China's overseas investment activities among many types of enterprises. This report believes that in order to achieve high-quality development of overseas investment by Chinese enterprises, attention must be paid to the advantages of each ownership structure enterprise. Specifically, one is to introduce a "package" of policies to promote the development of the private economy and continuously leverage the leading role of private enterprises. For example, actively implementing relevant policies represented by the Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Promoting the Development and Growth of the Private Economy, and effectively promoting the healthy development of the private economy. At the same time, by encouraging and supporting qualified private enterprises to participate in national strategies, and guiding private capital to participate in strategic areas such as key equipment manufacturing based on franchise models, we can broaden the path for private enterprises to "go global". Secondly, we need to increase financing support for private enterprises and alleviate their funding shortage pressure in research and development innovation. Especially for top enterprises and specialized and new enterprises, we should actively build platforms to achieve overseas investment project cooperation between private enterprises and other types of enterprises, and give full play to the joint efforts of enterprises with different ownership structures in overseas investment in China.
4. Enhance awareness of risk prevention in overseas investment and guide orderly cross regional cooperation
Cross regional cooperation, represented by overseas investment, is an important way to expand international development space. It not only involves the cross regional flow of traditional production factors, but also the integration of multiple factors such as policy systems, cultural differences, and financial environments. However, as the global economic and political landscape rapidly evolves, overseas investment risks are gradually accumulating, especially for some "going global" enterprises that lack investment experience. This poses challenges for Chinese companies' overseas investments from various dimensions such as politics, economy, and culture. Therefore, with the continuous expansion of China's outbound investment scale and optimization of its structure, there is an urgent need for more accurate risk assessment and stronger risk prevention and control, in order to create a favorable environment and conditions for overseas investment cooperation of enterprises, and to build a service, supervision, and guarantee system that promotes the "going global" of enterprises. Specifically, on the one hand, relevant government departments should actively guide investment policies, through timely and sensitive risk warnings and forward-looking analysis of the overseas investment environment, so that overseas investment activities can have a clear direction and focus under the guidance of national policies. For example, for restricted overseas investment projects, it is necessary to guide and remind enterprises to participate cautiously, and provide necessary investment guidance based on actual situations; For strictly restricted investment projects, relevant enterprises are required not to implement them without obtaining project approval procedures; Strengthen the management of overseas Chinese enterprises by government departments, improve regulatory methods, and carry out overseas investment in an orderly manner. On the other hand, "going global" enterprises should actively enhance their risk prevention awareness, strengthen their own risk assessment and risk resistance capabilities. For example, in the context of the restructuring of international economic and trade rules, it is necessary to always pay attention to the dual compliance of international and local rules, and make full use of international investment rules; At the same time, we should provide education and training for cross-border management personnel of enterprises, strengthen the security protection of overseas Chinese funded enterprises, institutions, and personnel, improve the response mechanism for overseas emergencies, and guard against potential compliance risks, performance risks, and security risks.