(Editor: Leona)

 

As more and more Chinese companies cross borders to expand their business, people might be curious about which might do better in the new year.

 

Joel Backaler, a contributor to Forbes and the author of China Goes West: Everything You Need to Know About Chinese Companies Going Global, shares his predictions for top 10 Chinese companies to watch out for in 2015.

 

These rankings were based on a combination of factors, including their existing global presence, pending overseas transactions, and internationalization of their management team and user/customer base.

 

Let's take a look of these companies.

 

No 10 Bright Food

Shanghai-based Bright Food Group Co made headlines for high-profile investments in the UK and New Zealand. The company is aiming to achieve 25 percent of revenues from overseas by 2017, according to Joel Backaler.

 

Lyu Yong Jie, chairman of Bright Food Group Co said in June that the company is seeking acquisitions and has the ability to pay as much as 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) for a target, according to a China Daily report.

 

He added that Bright Food isn't interested in deals that are "too small" and prefers to work on one acquisition at a time.

 

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No 9 Tencent

 

Tencent, one of the top three giants in China's Internet sector, has been stepping up its investments in Silicon Valley during the last two years. The global success of its social messaging app WeChat also makes it a key company to watch this year, said Joel Backaler.

 

WeChat had 468 million monthly active users during the second quarter of 2014, slightly less than Silicon Valley-founded WhatsApp, which has more than 500 million, China Daily reporter Lian Zi reported on Nov 26.

 

Chinese students often introduce WeChat to their classmates, friends and professors at US universities, especially in California, the state with the largest Chinese-American population.

 

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No 8 Baidu

 

Despite its US IPO in 2005, Baidu has focused primarily on the Chinese market in recent years, but in 2014 the firm began pushing more aggressively overseas with its Nokia partnership, $3 million Israeli startup investment and strategic stake in Uber, Joel Backaler noticed.

 

Baidu Inc bought control of Brazilian online-discount company Peixe Urbano for an undisclosed sum, the latest step in a push to expand in Latin America's largest economy that began more than two years ago, China Daily reported on Oct 27, 2014.

 

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No 7 Xiaomi

 

Xiaomi Inc sold 61.12 million smartphones in 2014, up 227 percent year on year, Xinhua reported on Jan 4, citing company founder and chief executive officer Lei Jun.

 

Sales of the brand expanded to six countries and regions over the past year, including Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.

 

Xiaomi, which was founded in April 2010 and valued at $45 billion in the new round of financing late December, is among the world's top four smartphone vendors.

 

The smartphone maker introduced its latest model Mi Note on Jan 15 at a floor price of 2,299 yuan ($370), hoping it to gain popularity among developed regions.

 

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No 6 Alibaba

 

China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group on the morning of Sept 19, 2014 rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, marking its initial public offering on Wall Street.

 

Alibaba set its IPO price at $68 per American Depositary Share on the evening of Sept 18, raising $21.8 billion. The IPO is believed to be the biggest in US history.

 

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No 5 Wanxiang

 

The Chinese auto parts producer has acquired more than two dozen companies in North America since opening its overseas headquarters there in 1994, according to Joel Backaler.

 

Wanxiang acquired the assets of stylish electric car pioneer Fisker Automotive for $149.2 million in a US bankruptcy auction in February, 2014.

 

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No 4 Huawei

 

Despite facing challenges in the US in its core telecommunications equipment business, Huawei continues to do exceptionally well around the world, said Joel Backaler.

 

The company exhibited over 100 products at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held early this month in Las Vegas.

 

The showcased products include Huawei's latest flagship smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, mobile access devices, home access devices, smart home devices, OTT and vehicle-mounted modules.

 

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No 3 Fosun

 

Chinese conglomerate Fosun International Ltd is moving into the US property and casualty insurance market by acquiring Meadowbrook Insurance Group for about $433 million, China Daily reported on Jan 1, citing chairman Guo Guangchang.

 

Fosun also zeroed in on its 18-month quest to buy French holiday resorts group Club Med when Italian businessman Andrea Bonomi refused to raise his latest offer in early January, according to Agence France-Presse.

 

Fosun Group, which has a diverse portfolio of core holdings in real estate, steel, pharmaceuticals and mining, is building itself into a premier global investment company.

 

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No 2 Dalian Wanda

 

China's real estate developer Wanda acquired US cinema chain AMC Entertainment at $2.6 billion in 2012, drawing worldwide attention.

 

The company announced an investment of 45 million euros ($52 million) for a 20 percent of stake in the Spanish football Club Atletico Madrid, marking the first time that a Chinese company has invested in a top flight European football club, chinadaily.com.cn reported on Jan 21.

 

Wanda aims to raise its business revenue to 600 billion yuan ($97 billion) by 2020, with 30 percent hopefully coming from overseas businesses, according to Xinhua News Agency.

 

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No 1 Lenovo

 

Lenovo Group got known worldwide for its acquisition of IBM’s ThinkPad division in 2005.

 

The year 2014 also saw the company's two major acquisitions in the US: Motorola Mobility and IBM’s x86 enterprise server division.

 

Lenovo chairman Yang Yuanqing said the company can become a global information technology giant if it uses its global resources in an optimal manner.

 

Judicious use of research and development expertise in developed economies and the adequate labor resources in emerging markets have fueled Lenovo's rapid growth during the past decade, Yang said. Roughly 60 percent of the company's businesses are located outside China.