This is a fascinating graphic representation of China’s investments around the world courtesy of Forbes and hat tip to Shaping Tomorrow. It covers the 5 years between beginning of 2005 and end of 2009. We all know that relatively landlocked and rapidly growing China is seeking to address future energy and commodity concerns.
If you go to the link, you can hover over the bubbles to see the specific investments and their are some interesting ones in the financial sector.
US – Visa, Morgan Stanley
UK – Barclays
South Africa – Standard Bank
Three points leapt out at me.
- the pace of investment is increasing
- the scope is bewildering, covering all parts of the world
- energy metals and chemicals number the greatest
Bankwatch 
Thanks for the mention! In fact, if you click on the green dot in the legend, you’ll see all of the finance investments highlighted. The pattern then becomes clear–lots of finance buys in Western Europe and the United States in recent years that compliment earlier investments in Australian and African natural resources.