Asian M&A volume sinks 74 pct in Q1 2001-Thomson
April 11, 2001 6:29am
Source: Reuters
HONG KONG, April 11 (Reuters) - Merger and acquisition (M&A) volume in Asia ex-Japan and Australasia sank 74 percent to $17 billion in the first quarter of 2001 versus the same period a year ago, Thomson Financial Securities Data said on Wednesday.
The drop reflects a decline of 61 percent in global M&A volume to $445 billion from $1.2 trillion over the same period, Thomson said in a statement.
But while the Asian Q1 2001 numbers are down, the $17 billion level is in line with the trend levels of 1998 and 1999, excluding the distortion to Q1 2000 caused by the mammoth bid by Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd for Cable & Wireless HKT, valued at the time at $38 billion.
Taiwan was Asia's top M&A deal centre in the first quarter of this year with volume of $3 billion, driven by the stock swap mergers between Teco Electric and Sampo Corp and Acer Display and Unipac Optoelectronics.
China ranked second with volume of $2.5 billion, including the quarter's biggest transaction, the $1.5 billion sale of power generating assets to Huaneng Power International from its Huaneng Power International Development unit.
Indonesia popped up a surprise third with deal volume worth $2.1 billion, fuelled primarily by inter-group transactions and the unwinding of cross-shareholdings.
Telecoms was the most active sector in the first quarter with a 17.6 percent share of M&A volume. Electricity and gas transactions were ranked second with 10.6 percent and food and beverage deals were third with a 9.1 percent share. ^ REUTERS@
²²²²
Copyright © 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
finance.individual.com |
