(Bloomberg) -- Middle Eastern and Japanese companies are increasingly seeing Southeast Asia as a destination of choice to deploy capital as they pivot some of the potential investment away from the rest of Asia, according to Bank of America Corp.’s Singapore country head Martin Siah.
Sectors such as health care and digital infrastructure, renewable energy and financial services are among the busiest, Siah said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Wednesday.
“Southeast Asia is at the cusp of a supergrowth cycle,” Siah said, referring to record foreign direct investment in the last couple of years. “We’re very bullish for the M&A outlook.”
Within the region, Singapore plays a critical role as a hub for many businesses, particularly financial institutions. It has in recent months turned into a hive for activity for mergers and acquisitions, helped by relative economic and political stability.
“We’re seeing a sudden frenzy of M&A activity in Singapore,” said Siah, who also heads BofA’s global corporate and investment banking in Southeast Asia. “My bankers on the deal front have been kept very busy year to date.”
However, while M&A activity remains strong, Siah said initial public offerings and equity capital markets in Southeast Asia have hit a pause in the last 12 to 18 months. Nevertheless, he sees the potential for a resurgence of IPOs in the future based on the green shoots in the pipeline.
--With assistance from Avril Hong and Haidi Lun.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
