Global uncertainties dampen deal appetites in 2017

Singapore

GLOBAL uncertainties put a dampener on investment appetites in 2017, with the year's mergers-and-acquisitions (M&A) activity falling just short of previous years'.

Still, bright spots are peeking through the clouds, with deal value picking up in the final month of last year, and technological advancement expected to drive the next wave of deal-making.

For 2017, total M&A deal value dipped 3.2 per cent to US$3.15 trillion (S$4.19 trillion), compared to 2016, while deal count dropped by 205 year-on-year, according to deal intelligence service Mergermarket's Global & Regional M&A Report Q4 2017.

Deal value, however, picked up in the final month of 2…