Asia-Pacific deal activity down 21% in H1 2023: GlobalData

DEAL volume in the Asia-Pacific (Apac) region fell 20.9 per cent year on year in the first half of 2023, in the light of global economic uncertainties, said GlobalData in a report on Thursday (Jul 13).

A total of 7,245 deals across mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity and venture financing were completed in H1 2023, down from over 9,154 deals announced during the same period in 2022.

All the deal types declined on the year, with the most significant being a 29.4 per cent drop in venture financing deals.

This was followed by declines of 10.8 per cent and 8.1 per cent in M&A and private equity deals, respectively.

GlobalData’s lead analyst Aurojyoti Bose attributed H1’s lacklustre deal activity in Apac to the global trend of economic uncertainties, which has rendered deal activity sluggish in 2023 so far.

Key markets in Apac experienced a double-digit year-on-year fall over the period, with China registering an 11.6 per cent lower deal volume despite being a top Apac market.

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Indonesia was most affected in terms of deal volume with a 43.7 per cent plunge.

This was followed by a 37.5 per cent decline in South Korea and a 31.4 per cent drop in India.

The deal activity in Singapore shrank by 23.5 per cent on the year in H1.

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This percentage was however smaller than the 29 per cent year-on-year decline registered from January to May 2023 reported by GlobaData in June.

Bose, commenting on H1 global deal activity, which fell 23.7 per cent on the year, said that 2023 has not been a good year so far for deal activity.

“Plagued by challenging factors such as rising interest rates, high inflation, fear of recession and geopolitical tensions, the first half of the year has already seen a considerable decline in deal activity,” he said.

The fall in Apac’s deal volume is smaller than those of Africa as well as South and Central America, where volumes were down 29 per cent and 32.2 per cent respectively.

North America continued to dominate the global deals landscape, but likewise registered a 26.4 per cent fall in deal volume over the first half of the year.