Southeast Asia finds China love as Xi pushes 'One Belt, One Road' dream

(May 31): Dominated by Japanese investment since the 1980s, Southeast Asia has found a new source of funds in China.

Chinese companies poured a record US$14.6 billion ($20.2 billion) of foreign direct investment into Southeast Asia in 2015, almost double from the previous year and a gargantuan leap from US$156 million a decade ago, according to Maybank Kim Eng Holdings. They're also diversifying from manufacturing, mining and agriculture into financial and commercial services, such as advertising and travel.

Armed with trillions of dollars of savings, China is rapidly accumulating foreign assets as it transforms into a global power. China is turning its eye to Southeast Asia in part to source cheaper manufacturing and partly through President Xi Jinping's plans to recreate the ancient Silk Road trading routes between Asia and Europe.

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