Mergers and acquisitions activity in the Asia Pacific continued to drop to a six-year low with China deals further affected by geopolitical tensions. Korea and Japan deals, meanwhile, saw strong momentum.
Overall M&A activity in the Asia Pacific, excluding Japan, totaled $565.3 billion in 2019, the lowest level since 2013, according to data compiled by Mergermarket. The region’s share in the global M&A market shrank 17% in 2019 from 20.4% a year earlier. Deals involving mainland China and Hong Kong, negatively affected by the U.S.-China trade and economic disputes, totaled $294.5 billion, accounting for 8.8% of the total global value, down 27.6% from 2018.
