China is looking to buy American – at a never-before-seen clip. Starwood Hotels & Resorts (HOT) is just the biggest and latest target. Chinese investors and buyers have announced plans to spend $39 billion so far this year buying U.S. companies, says Richard Peterson, senior director at S&P Global Market Intelligence. This whopping total includes Anbang Insurance Group’s offer for hotel chain Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which S&P Global says values at $15.2 billion.

The pace of Chinese buying of U.S. companies is unprecedented, Peterson says. The value of Chinese bids for U.S. companies just this year is roughly four times the $9.4 billion of Sino-U.S. deals announced last year and already well above the previous record of $11.8 billion Chinese companies announced spending in 2013. 2013 was the year China’s Henan Shineway Industry Group agreed to buy food processor Smithfield Foods for $7.3 billion. READ MORE


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