IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ememar/v65y2025ics1566014124001304.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How bilateral investment treaties affect cross-border mergers and acquisitions: Novel evidence from China's internationalization

Author

Listed:
  • Han, Yonghui
  • Cheng, Hao
  • Wang, Hao

Abstract

Utilizing a comprehensive dataset of China and 127 host economies from 2004 to 2019 at both national level and firm level, we investigate how bilateral investment treaties (BITs) between China and global economies affect China's outbound cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBMA). Our results demonstrate a positive effect of BITs on CBMA and such a promoting effect varies across host countries with different institutional and economic settings. While the most-favored-nation clause and umbrella clause are the underlying mechanisms accounting for the incentives of CBMA in the stage of pre-acquisitions, the expropriation and compensation clause drives the successful rate of CBMA. Further, non-state-owned enterprises display stronger incentive than state-owned enterprises.

Suggested Citation

  • Han, Yonghui & Cheng, Hao & Wang, Hao, 2025. "How bilateral investment treaties affect cross-border mergers and acquisitions: Novel evidence from China's internationalization," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ememar:v:65:y:2025:i:c:s1566014124001304
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ememar.2024.101235
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1566014124001304
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ememar.2024.101235?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Estrin, Saul & Meyer, Klaus E. & Nielsen, Bo B. & Nielsen, Sabina, 2016. "Home country institutions and the internationalization of state owned enterprises: A cross-country analysis," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 294-307.
    2. Bhattacharya, Utpal & Hsu, Po-Hsuan & Tian, Xuan & Xu, Yan, 2017. "What Affects Innovation More: Policy or Policy Uncertainty?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(5), pages 1869-1901, October.
    3. Nicolas Coeurdacier & Roberto A. De Santis & Antonin Aviat, 2009. "Cross-border mergers and acquisitions and European integration [‘Capital flows in a globalised world: The role of policies and institutions’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 24(57), pages 56-106.
    4. Heid, Benedikt & Vozzo, Isaac, 2020. "The international trade effects of bilateral investment treaties," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    5. Bruce Kogut & Harbir Singh, 1988. "The Effect of National Culture on the Choice of Entry Mode," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 19(3), pages 411-432, September.
    6. repec:bla:ecpoli:v:24:y:2009:i::p:55-106 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Anusha Chari & Wenjie Chen & Kathryn M E Dominguez, 2012. "Foreign Ownership and Firm Performance: Emerging Market Acquisitions in the United States," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 60(1), pages 1-42, April.
    8. Desbordes, Rodolphe & Vicard, Vincent, 2009. "Foreign direct investment and bilateral investment treaties: An international political perspective," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 372-386, September.
    9. Pei-Fen Chen & Chien-Chiang Lee & Jhih-Hong Zeng, 2019. "Economic policy uncertainty and firm investment: evidence from the U.S. market," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(31), pages 3423-3435, July.
    10. Lian, Zeng & Ma, Yunfeng & Chen, Li & He, Rong, 2024. "The role of cities in cross-border mergers and acquisitions — Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 1482-1498.
    11. Wang, Hao & Luo, Qi, 2022. "Can a colonial legacy explain the pollution haven hypothesis? A city-level panel analysis," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 482-495.
    12. Agcayazi, Busra & Hibbert, Ann Marie & Morillon, Thibaut G., 2024. "CEO International Background and Cross-Border M&As," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    13. repec:oup:ecpoli:v:24:y:2009:i::p:55-106 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Wang, Hao & Han, Yonghui & Fidrmuc, Jan & Wei, Dongming, 2021. "Confucius Institute, Belt and Road Initiative, and Internationalization," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 237-256.
    15. Neumayer, Eric & Spess, Laura, 2005. "Do bilateral investment treaties increase foreign direct investment to developing countries?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1567-1585, October.
    16. Matthias Busse & Jens Königer & Peter Nunnenkamp, 2010. "FDI promotion through bilateral investment treaties: more than a bit?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 146(1), pages 147-177, April.
    17. Nicolas Coeurdacier & Roberto A. de Santis & Antonin Aviat, 2009. "Cross-border mergers and acquisitions and European integration," SciencePo Working papers hal-01022660, HAL.
    18. Piero Morosini & Scott Shane & Harbir Singh, 1998. "National Cultural Distance and Cross-Border Acquisition Performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 29(1), pages 137-158, March.
    19. Hijzen, Alexander & Görg, Holger & Manchin, Miriam, 2008. "Cross-border mergers and acquisitions and the role of trade costs," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(5), pages 849-866, July.
    20. Rajan, Raghuram G. & Zingales, Luigi, 2003. "The great reversals: the politics of financial development in the twentieth century," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 5-50, July.
    21. Gordon Sirr & John Garvey & Liam A. Gallagher, 2017. "Bilateral Investment Treaties and Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence of Asymmetric Effects on Vertical and Horizontal Investments," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 35(1), pages 93-113, January.
    22. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/c8dmi8nm4pdjkuc9g70aj72cl is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Isil Erel & Rose C. Liao & Michael S. Weisbach, 2012. "Determinants of Cross‐Border Mergers and Acquisitions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(3), pages 1045-1082, June.
    24. Rossi, Stefano & Volpin, Paolo F., 2004. "Cross-country determinants of mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 277-304, November.
    25. Chowdhury, Reza H. & Maung, Min, 2018. "Historical ties between nations: How do they matter in cross-border mergers and acquisitions?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 30-48.
    26. Kundu, Srikanta & Paul, Amartya, 2022. "Effect of economic policy uncertainty on stock market return and volatility under heterogeneous market characteristics," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 597-612.
    27. Colen, Liesbeth & Persyn, Damiaan & Guariso, Andrea, 2016. "Bilateral Investment Treaties and FDI: Does the Sector Matter?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 193-206.
    28. Cuervo-Cazurra, Alvaro & Li, Cheng, 2021. "State ownership and internationalization: The advantage and disadvantage of stateness," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(1).
    29. Douglas Almond & Hongbin Li & Shuang Zhang, 2019. "Land Reform and Sex Selection in China," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(2), pages 560-585.
    30. Lauge N. Skovgaard Poulsen & Emma Aisbett, 2011. "When the Claim Hits: Bilateral Investment Treaties and Bounded Rational Learning," Crawford School Research Papers 1105, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    31. Pablo, Eduardo, 2013. "Cross-border diversification through M&As in Latin America," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 425-430.
    32. Jim Huangnan Shen & Hao Wang & Steve Chu‐Chia Lin, 2021. "Productivity Gap and Inward FDI Spillovers: Theory and Evidence from China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 29(2), pages 24-48, March.
    33. Harford, Jarrad, 2005. "What drives merger waves?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(3), pages 529-560, September.
    34. Li, Shi & Zhao, Long, 2021. "Bilateral investment treaties and foreign direct investment: Evidence from emerging market firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    35. Ahern, Kenneth R. & Daminelli, Daniele & Fracassi, Cesare, 2015. "Lost in translation? The effect of cultural values on mergers around the world," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(1), pages 165-189.
    36. Peter Egger & Valeria Merlo, 2007. "The Impact of Bilateral Investment Treaties on FDI Dynamics," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(10), pages 1536-1549, October.
    37. Li, Wanli & Su, Yueying & Wang, Kaixiu, 2022. "How does economic policy uncertainty affect cross-border M&A: Evidence from Chinese firms," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    38. Surendranath Rakesh Jory & Thanh Ngoc Ngo, 2014. "Cross-border acquisitions of state-owned enterprises," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 45(9), pages 1096-1114, December.
    39. Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra & Mary M Maloney & Shalini Manrakhan, 2007. "Causes of the difficulties in internationalization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(5), pages 709-725, September.
    40. Bhagwat, Vineet & Brogaard, Jonathan & Julio, Brandon, 2021. "A BIT goes a long way: Bilateral investment treaties and cross-border mergers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(2), pages 514-538.
    41. Michael Frenkel & Benedikt Walter, 2019. "Do bilateral investment treaties attract foreign direct investment? The role of international dispute settlement provisions," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 1316-1342, May.
    42. Chenxi Zhou & Jinhong Xie & Qi Wang, 2016. "Failure to Complete Cross-Border M&As: “To” vs. “From” Emerging Markets," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(9), pages 1077-1105, December.
    43. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/c8dmi8nm4pdjkuc9g70aj72cl is not listed on IDEAS
    44. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/c8dmi8nm4pdjkuc9g70aj72cl is not listed on IDEAS
    45. Kim, Young-Han, 2009. "Cross-border M&A vs. greenfield FDI: Economic integration and its welfare impact," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 87-101.
    46. Hao Wang & Qi Luo, 2020. "How colonial legacy shapes the impact of inward FDI on GDP? Evidence from China," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(9), pages 740-743, May.
    47. Michael A Witt & Arie Y Lewin, 2007. "Outward foreign direct investment as escape response to home country institutional constraints," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(4), pages 579-594, July.
    48. Sergio Correia & Paulo Guimarães & Tom Zylkin, 2020. "Fast Poisson estimation with high-dimensional fixed effects," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 20(1), pages 95-115, March.
    49. Saul Estrin & Jan Hanousek & Evzen Kocenda & Jan Svejnar, 2009. "The Effects of Privatization and Ownership in Transition Economies," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(3), pages 699-728, September.
    50. Khandokar Istiak & Apostolos Serletis, 2018. "Economic policy uncertainty and real output: evidence from the G7 countries," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(39), pages 4222-4233, August.
    51. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/c8dmi8nm4pdjkuc9g70aj72cl is not listed on IDEAS
    52. Peter Egger & Valeria Merlo, 2012. "BITs Bite: An Anatomy of the Impact of Bilateral Investment Treaties on Multinational Firms," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 114(4), pages 1240-1266, December.
    53. Yonghui Han & Hao Wang & Dongming Wei, 2022. "The Belt and Road Initiative, sister-city partnership and Chinese outward FDI," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(1), pages 3416-3436, December.
    54. Günter K. Stahl & Andreas Voigt, 2008. "Do Cultural Differences Matter in Mergers and Acquisitions? A Tentative Model and Examination," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(1), pages 160-176, February.
    55. Kono, Daniel Y., 2006. "Optimal Obfuscation: Democracy and Trade Policy Transparency," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 100(3), pages 369-384, August.
    56. Mauro Boffa & Marion Jansen & Olga Solleder, 2019. "Do we need deeper trade agreements for GVCs or just a BIT?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(6), pages 1713-1739, June.
    57. Qi Luo & Dantong Zhang & Hao Wang, 2023. "Digital Economy, Industrial Structure, and Regional Trade Dependence: Mechanism Analysis Based on Chinese City Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-12, August.
    58. Li, Wanli & Wang, Chaohui & Ren, Qizhe & Zhao, Ding, 2020. "Institutional distance and cross-border M&A performance: A dynamic perspective," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    59. Bazel-Shoham, Ofra & Lee, Sang Mook & Rivera, Michael J. & Shoham, Amir, 2020. "Impact of the female board members and gaps in linguistic gender marking on cross-border M&A," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(2).
    60. Joseph A. Clougherty & Nan Zhang, 2021. "Foreign investor reactions to risk and uncertainty in antitrust: U.S. merger policy investigations and the deterrence of foreign acquirer presence," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(3), pages 454-478, April.
    61. Lin Cui & Fuming Jiang, 2012. "State ownership effect on firms' FDI ownership decisions under institutional pressure: a study of Chinese outward-investing firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(3), pages 264-284, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ahsan, Faisal Mohammad & Popli, Manish & Kumar, Vikas, 2024. "Formal institutions and cross-border mergers and acquisitions: A systematic literature review and research agenda," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(5).
    2. Xie, En & Reddy, K.S. & Liang, Jie, 2017. "Country-specific determinants of cross-border mergers and acquisitions: A comprehensive review and future research directions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 127-183.
    3. Li, Shi & Urata, Shujiro & Zhao, Long, 2024. "Does the quality of bilateral investment treaties matter for outward foreign direct investment?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 207-218.
    4. Chen, Yenn-Ru & Huang, Yu-Lin & Chang, Ting-Yu, 2024. "Gender culture and cross-border mergers and acquisitions: The deals with RCEP targets," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    5. Xiong, Tingting, 2022. "The Effect of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) on the extensive and intensive margins of exports," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 68-79.
    6. Renneboog, Luc & Vansteenkiste, Cara, 2019. "Failure and success in mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 650-699.
    7. Ahmad, Muhammad Farooq & Lambert, Thomas & Martín-Flores, José M. & Romec, Arthur, 2024. "Does democracy shape international merger activity?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    8. Josef C. Brada & Zdenek Drabek & Ichiro Iwasaki, 2021. "Does Investor Protection Increase Foreign Direct Investment? A Meta‐Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 34-70, February.
    9. Simon Hartmann & Rok Spruk, 2023. "The impact of unilateral BIT terminations on FDI: Quasi-experimental evidence from India," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 259-296, April.
    10. Peter Egger & Alain Pirotte & Catharine Titi, 2023. "International investment agreements and foreign direct investment: A survey," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(6), pages 1524-1565, June.
    11. Li, Shi & Zhao, Long, 2021. "Bilateral investment treaties and foreign direct investment: Evidence from emerging market firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    12. Stefan Eichler & Jannik André Nauerth, 2025. "Bilateral investment treaties and sovereign default risk: Evidence for emerging markets," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(2), pages 1803-1830, April.
    13. Shujiro Urata & Youngmin Baek, 2023. "Impact of International Investment Agreements on Japanese FDI: A firm‐level analysis," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(8), pages 2306-2334, August.
    14. Hong, Seiwoong & Lee, Junyong & Oh, Frederick Dongchuhl & Shin, Donglim, 2023. "Religion and foreign direct investment," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(1).
    15. Mitsuo Inada & Naoto Jinji, 2024. "The impact of policy uncertainty on foreign direct investment: Micro‐evidence from Japan's international investment agreements," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 934-957, August.
    16. Eichler, Stefan & Nauerth, Jannik A., 2024. "Bilateral investment treaties and portfolio investment," CEPIE Working Papers 01/24, Technische Universität Dresden, Center of Public and International Economics (CEPIE).
    17. Reddy, Kotapati Srinivasa, 2015. "Determinants of Cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions: A Comprehensive Review and Future Direction," MPRA Paper 63969, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2015.
    18. Liu, Chenxi & Kang, Mengyao, 2025. "Director overseas experience and cross-border acquisitions: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    19. Eichler, Stefan & Nauerth, Jannik André, 2024. "Bilateral investment treaties and portfolio investment," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    20. Dowling, Michael & Vanwalleghem, Dieter, 2018. "Gulf Cooperation Council cross-border M&A: Institutional determinants of target nation selection," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 471-489.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bilateral investment treaties; Cross-border mergers and acquisitions; Text analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ememar:v:65:y:2025:i:c:s1566014124001304. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620356 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.