Pan-Asian M&A trends
Megatrends |
Japan |
China |
South Korea |
Southeast Asia |
India |
Q2 ‘stumble’ |
Outbound M&A slowdown partly due to the weakest Yen in the past 20 years[1] |
Slowdown in tourism, local political instabilities and labour shortage affecting deal making across the region |
Unicorn boom slowed down in Q2 with only 4 new unicorns vs 12 in Q1[2] |
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Interest rate hikes |
Bank of Korea raised base rate by 25 bps to 175bps; investors now preferring good cash flow & risks[3] |
US FEDS moves causing Southeast Asia central banks’ interest rate [4] |
Expects to remain above 6% for the rest of 2022 despite successive rate [5] |
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Rise of inbound M&A |
Inbound M&A by foreign nationals hits new height at c. USD 9.5BN 1H 2022, +34.3% yoy and second highest in 15 years[6] |
FDI inflow up 17.5% 1H 2022 as investors expect a stock market rebound[7] |
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PEs, Credit market & IPO |
Total Chinese IPO hit c.USD 35BN this year, vs USD 16BN on Wall Street[8] |
Regulations on PE funds relaxed, credit funds and creative investment strategies gain [9] |
M&A remains strong; already reaching USD 40BN by Q2, vs total 2021 at USD 55BN[10] |
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ESG |
55% of CEOS found ESG score important, with 21% believing it provides commercial advantage[11] |
BYD sold 641,000 EVs in H1 2022 (300% increase), overtaking |
Popularity of Green, eg waste management, EV battery tech[12] |
All Southeast Asian countries now require mandatory ESG [13] |
Areas of interest: top Asian outbound investment regions (Q2 2022)
Notes: % denotes share (by deal volume) of aggregate inbound investments in each world region, broken down by Asian investor origin
1. Others include LATAM, Africa, Middle East and Oceania
Sectors of focus: top Asian outbound activities by sector (Q2 2022)
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Regional breakdown
Our Asia experts explore these key trends within in region and discuss the local impact on M&A activity and outbound investment.

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