The mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market in Singapore hit 125.7 billion SGD (88.1 billion USD) with 800 transactions in 2016, despite economic difficulties, reported Today Singapore newspaper.

Illustrative photo (Photo: VNA)

The newspaper cited a report of Duff & Phelps which showed that the government’s fund manager GIC and Temasek Holdings still lead the market, followed by independent investors.

Real estate activities account for 30 percent of this year’s M&A transactions, while industry operations occupy 19 percent and technology with 16 percent.

The number of transactions increased 17 percent, but their total value declined 15 percent against the record of 103.8 billion USD of last year.

Besides, private equity and venture capital transactions witnessed a stable development rate this year, with a total value worth 3.5 billion USD.

Along with Singapore, the M&A market is also active in Malaysia and Indonesia, with 413 and 178 transactions this year worth 15.6 billion USD and 10.8 billion USD, respectively, according to the report.

Director of Duff & Phelps Srividya Gopalakrishnan stressed that Asia has overtaken Europe and emerged as a strong contender of the M&A market due to the high demand of China, Singapore and other countries in the region.

However, she also warned of the negative impacts on this market’s development in the foreseeable future caused by Brexit, the US Presidential elections and the slow recovery of the global energy sector, among others.

(Source: VNA)