Deals in China's M&A markets saw a staggering drop of 47 percent from July to November, according to a report from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

With only 543 deals announced in the period, the number of domestic M&A transactions reached the record low before 2006. However, 2008 began strongly with a 14-percent deal growth in the first six months, reaching 920 announced transactions (valued at $46 billion) in the first half of the year, compared to 808 in the first half of 2007 (valued at US$28 billion).

Despite the drop in activity, the manufacturing sector is the most active sector by number of deals, while real estate is the biggest sector by deal value.

Outbound deal volume dropped in the second half of the year, falling 29 percent at 32 transactions, again due to the impact of the global economic downturn, reflecting a move from Chinese investors who are still keen to execute deals once conditions improve.

(China Daily December 16, 2008)