Geopolitical tensions, sustainability goals to continue to drive Asia-Pac M&A in 2023

Yong Jun Yuan

Published Fri, Dec 30, 2022 · 05:50 AM

THE pursuit of sustainability and diversification is driving corporate merger and acquisitions (M&A) in the Asia-Pacific region, said investment bankers. They expect this trend to continue in 2023, although the tough economic environment may hamper dealmaking.

Regional M&A activity is already on the downtrend, after a record-breaking 2021. In the first nine months of 2022, Refinitiv data showed, the value of deals involving companies in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan declined 34 per cent to US$748.5 billion.

The fall was at least partly due to differences in the expectations of buyers and sellers.

OCBC head of corporate finance and global investment banking David Cheng said that over the past year, the bank has seen a…