Chinese firms tone down investment in Switzerland

Swiss trade links with China have recently showed signs of coolling. Keystone / Mark Schiefelbein / Pool

Just three Swiss firms were taken over by Chinese counterparts last year, down from nine such deals the previous year.

The pronounced downturn in Chinese merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in Switzerland was mirrored across Europe.

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The number of European takeovers fell from 155 in 2021 to 139 last year, according to a report from audit firm EY.

The amount of money being spent fell even further – from $12.4 billion (CHF11.4 billion) to $4.3 billion. The value of the three Swiss takeovers was not made public.

Chinese firms have been particularly active in Switzerland in recent years. The $43 billion takeover of Swiss agribusiness group Syngenta by ChemChina in 2017 marked the high water mark.

Other targets have included air transport support companies Gategroup, Swissport and SR Technics and aluminum bottle makers Sigg.

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But the takeover spree also sparked concerns about Chinese takeover of critically important Swiss companies.

In 2022, Chinese companies took over 27 British counterparts, 26 in Germany and 17 in France, says EY.

Switzerland ranked joint ninth most popular destination for Chinese M&A activity alongside Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Sweden.

Switzerland has had a free trade agreement with China since 2014. But efforts to upgrade the deal appear to have stalled as Switzerland takes a tougher political stance on China.