Fosun Pharma and Shanghai Pharma have both officially denied their involvement in any bidding battle for German company Stada, although both Chinese firms make no secret of their international expansion ambitions and have been active deal makers in the past.

China’s large-cap pharmaceutical groups have been actively scouting for overseas M&A deals in recent years, with the aims of acquiring advanced technology and bigger global market shares. These cash-rich players’ interest in outbound investment is set to remain high, experts predict.

As China opens up its private hospital market and a new wave of investment, major players such as Chindex International Inc. are reevaluating and repositioning themselves to benefit from the growing private infrastructure.

This article first appeared in the December 2010 issue of Start-Up.