South-east Asia to see more private equity deals this year; healthcare, data centres in the spotlight

A RECOVERY in the region’s private equity (PE) market last year has spurred optimism among key players in 2025, as they expect investors that had held back previously to unleash their buying power in a lower interest-rate environment.

In data provided to The Business Times ahead of its official announcement, EY shows the number of PE deals in South-east Asia soared 103 per cent to 67 in 2024, the highest since 2018 when it began tracking the numbers. The total US$15.8 billion in capital deployed last year – more than treble the US$4.9 billion in 2023 – was the highest since 2021.

Singapore accounted for the lion’s share of the market, at 45 per cent by both deal value and volume. These include 2024’s largest infrastructure deal in the region – a S$1.75 billion investment by KKR and Singtel in data-centre provider ST Telemedia Global Data Centres in June.