Geopolitics, rising inflation, Russia-Ukraine war, energy crisis and uncertain economic conditions continue to make a dent in deal-making sentiment across Asia-Pacific (APAC). As a result, deal activity (mergers & acquisitions [M&A], private equity, and venture financing deals) in the region witnessed a 1.4% year-on-year decline during January-October 2022, reveals GlobalData a leading data and analytics company.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The decline could be attributed to subdued activity across several key markets as market volatility and uncertainty continue to prevail. Especially China’s zero-COVID policy disrupted the global supply chain and affected demand and supply, as the country is a manufacturing hub for industries ranging from big tech to consumer goods.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that China, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and New Zealand witnessed year-on-year decline in deal volume by 15.2%, 8.6%, 18.6%, 10.4% and 13.1%, respectively, in January-October 2022. Meanwhile India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia showcased improvement in deal volume by 12.3%, 15.9%, 8.4%, 9.3% and 20.8%, respectively.

Among the deal types under coverage, the number of private equity and M&A deals declined by 21.4% and 1.8% during January-October 2022 compared to the same period in last year, respectively, while venture financing deals’ volume witnessed an improvement of 0.9%

Bose concludes: “Deal activity in the APAC region has been showcasing a fluctuating month-on-month trend in 2022. October is the second consecutive month that witnessed decline in deal activity. Deal volume declined by a massive 31.7% in October compared to the previous month. In fact, it is the first month of 2022 with deal volume falling below the 1,000 mark.”