On a buying spree for global health assets

China's health-care companies are on an acquisition tear, attempting to buy their way into international markets like never before.

Chinese firms have announced more than $3.9 billion in overseas acquisitions in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and health-care sectors this year, a pace on track to exceed last year's record total and a tenfold increase from the amount spent in all of 2012, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

That surge is driven by Chinese tycoons and businesses seeking to diversify in the face of slowing growth at home and a government push to upgrade the "Made in China" brand. In the domestic market, many of these companies are grappling with a fragmented drug industry with close to 5,000 manufacturers and aggressive competition that is pushing down generic drug prices. Success overseas would allow them to expand their portfolios, find new areas of growth and provide a ready-made entry into developed markets that have high regulatory standards.