BEIJING, Nov. 6, 2009 (Xinhua News Agency) -- Chinese companies completed 61 merger a nd acquisition deals overseas involving 21.2 billion US dollars in the

first three quarters of 2009, according to the accounting firm Deloit te.

The China Petrochemical Corporation, also known as the Sinopec (NYSE:SNP) Grou p, the parent company of the Sinopec Corp. (6000028.SH 0386.HK SNP.NYS E), took over Addax Petroleum (AXC.LSE) for 8.8 billion US dollars in June, the largest deal in recent years. (The attempt of Chinalco (6016 00.SH; 02600.HK) and Alcoa (AMEX:AA.PR) (NYSE:AA) jointly acquire a stake in Rio Tinto ultima tely failed.)

US, Australia and India are the three most popular destinations for

Chinese investment. From 2003 to September 8, 2009, Chinese companies

spent 58.4 billion US dollars acquiring assets in the three countries .

"In 2010, China's overseas takeover bids may still focus on energy,

mining and public utilities," said Xie Qilong, director of the China and Asia Pacific M&A business at Deloitte.

"However, as the global economy is recovering from the crisis, Chin ese companies will face more challenges with the deals," he added.

He also said that during the tough times for the economy, it is wis e for Chinese companies to take over energy, mining and real estate as sets, since prices are relatively low and integration in other industr ies is more complicated.