Outbound mergers and acquisitions (M&As) from Hong Kong companies reached record levels in the first quarter, as firms poured USD15.5 billion into overseas markets – the highest total since 2001, Mergemarket data shows. Overseas M&A activity by mainland companies cooled drastically. They made 80 outbound M&A deals worth USD12.5 billion in the first quarter, compared with USD82 billion during the same period last year, while deal count also dropped from 96. “As an offshore financial center with less influence from the capital outflow controls imposed by Chinese regulators, Hong Kong continues to have robust outbound appetite,” the report said. The USD15.5 billion spent by Hong Kong firms involved 23 deals, beating any previous quarters measured by Mergermarket by at least USD5 billion. Topping the deals was a USD9.8 billion bid made by a consortium led by Cheung Kong Property to take over Australia power provider Duet Group, followed by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises’ USD3.1 billion deal to acquire Australian utility Alinta Energy. The two accounted for 83.2% of total outbound value in the first quarter, with a combined USD12.9 billion investment into Australian assets. The largest outbound deal from China so far this year was Ant Financial Services Group’s USD1.5 billion acquisition of U.S.-based MoneyGram. Inbound interest by companies from outside of China and Hong Kong in the region has also slowed to the lowest level in a decade by number of deals, the report shows. Just 23 deals worth USD3.2 billion were made in the first three months, making it the worst performing quarter since the first quarter in 2004, when only 18 inbound deals totaling USD2.2 billion were recorded.