China surpassed US to emerge as the top M&A dealmaker globally. This is the first time since 2008, the US has lost its top spot.

The country reported the largest amount of outbound merger and acquisitions in the first nine months of the year. 

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Based on the data released by Dealogic, the total value of mergers and acquisitions carried out by Chinese companies showed an increase of 68 percent compared to the same period last year. Chinese companies entered into M&A deals worth $173.9 billion during the first three quarters of 2016.

The report also revealed that many of such deals did not prosper, owing to concerns about national security.  

Deals worth $10.1 billion were reportedly retracted, expired or were rejected by the target companies, the largest of which were in technology sector..

In the meantime, it can be noted that as of third quarter this year, 601 deals were announced, up from 441 deals for the corresponding time period of 2015.

The biggest outbound M&A deal by a Chinese company involved ChemChina's acquisition of Syngenta for $46.7 billion.

On the other hand, $35.8 billion worth of China outbound deals were retracted at the same time. The biggest withdrawal was the Unisplendour's potential purchase of stake in Western Digital and China Resources, which was valued at $3.8 billion. Hue Capital's bid for Fairchild Semiconductor also fell through.

Both the target companies cited regulatory issues as the main reason. These companies faced enhanced reviews by the US Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

TagsDealogic, ChemChina, syngenta