KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has seen a strong momentum in deal activity with total deals in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity (PE)/venture capital (VC) and initial public offering valued at US$20.3 billion in 2017. Duff & Phelps said the energy sector in Malaysia continues to witness high deal value activity for inbound M&A for Malaysia, with real estate being the top sector for domestic M&A. The two largest M&A transactions in 2017 for Malaysia were the acquisitions of 50 per cent stakes in Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development and PRPC Polymers Sdn Bhd, both by Saudi Aramco. Regionally, Singapore recorded a total of 842 M&A, PE/VC and IPOs deals worth US$101.9 billion for 2017 compared to 800 deals worth US$88.1 billion last year. M&A comprised the bulk of the deal volume in Singapore with 698 deals valued at US$75.4 billion compared to 684 deals valued at US$82.7 billion in 2016.

Source: New Strait Times December 12, 2017 09:22 UTC