Depreciating yen fuels Singapore companies’ M&As in Japan

Buyout opportunities could arise from succession crisis, say observers; Singapore’s outbound activity targeting Japan hits US$1.2b in 2022

Paige Lim

Published Mon, Mar 13, 2023 · 05:50 AM

M&A

MORE Singapore companies are acquiring and investing in Japanese businesses, as they take advantage of lower valuations driven by the depreciating yen. They could also be presented with more buyout opportunities as Japan’s national succession crisis deepens, said industry watchers.

According to financial data platform Refinitiv, Singapore’s outbound mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity targeting Japan reached US$1.209 billion in deal value in 2022, up 14.6 per cent from US$1.056 billion in 2021. This marked the highest annual total deal value since 2017’s US$1.398 billion, driven mostly by acquisitions in Japan’s real estate market.

Refinitiv data showed that real estate deals accounted for 97.2 per cent of Singapore’s overall M&A deals in Japan at US$1.175 billion.