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John Geldart has spent a lot of time in China over recent years. It is an amazing country which fascinates and surprises him every time he returns, but perhaps no more so than over the past few months when he has been lucky enough to interview the chairmen of some of its most dynamic companies.

Stefano Salvadeo was interviewed on Focus Economia di Radio 24 recently to discuss some positive indicators regarding M&A activity in Italy.

Our annual look at M&A sentiment around the world shows that the shift in acquisitive focus amongst businesses uncovered last year – from domestic to cross-border – is becoming increasingly popular as a key strategy for companies looking to facilitate growth.

The outlook has improved somewhat since the ANC’s Manguang conference at the end of last year. It is encouraging for business leaders to see the adoption of the national development plan, with various measures to tackle unemployment, poverty and inequality.

On Thursday of last week, I chaired a panel of leading figures from the PE industry – including Paul Canning (HIG Capital Europe), David Whileman (3i), Franceso di Valmarana (Pantheon) and my colleague Mo Merali (Grant Thornton UK) – to launch our 2012 Global Private Equity report: ‘The search for growth’.

Through our International Business Report we’ve been keeping track of global figures on the appetites for both domestic and cross-border transactions since 2008.