During the first half of 2018, there were 6,484 disclosed M&A deals with Asian involvement amounting to $540.4 billion, representing an increase of 23.5 percent compared to the first half of 2017, according to data from Thomson Reuters.

 

Despite an increase in M&A activity this year compared to the first half of 2017, Asia’s global share dropped to 19.1 percent this year from 27 percent in 2017, said research firm Mergermarket. The firm’s data also showed that during the previous 12 months, China was the most active in M&A activity.

In terms of deal count, among 10 Asian countries and territories counted, China ranked first, followed by Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The country also recorded the highest deal value, before Hong Kong and Japan.

Sectors that saw the most M&A activity this year in Asia excluding Japan included the energy and power, industrials, and financials, which made up a market share of 42.2 percent altogether. In particular, compared to the first six months of last year, energy and power recorded a surge of 147.3 percent in deal value to $80 billion.

This was due to the top two announced deals involving Asian companies. In May 2018, China Three Gorges’ proposed $28.6 billion takeover of energy firm EDP Energias de Portugal was the biggest in this category. This was the first time a Chinese involvement deal exceeded $20 billion in Europe since the deal between ChemChina and Syngenta in 2016.

The second one is Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings’ bid in June 2018 for Australian gas pipeline operator APA Group for $9.8 billion. This is the group’s biggest overseas acquisition and the second largest in Asia excluding Japan.

On the other hand, private equity-related deals rose to $119.6 billion by 32.7 percent in deal value year-on-year, according to Bloomberg.

The largest deal in this category announced in Asia during the first half of 2018 was Walmart’s pending acquisition of India-based Flipkart Online Services for around $16 billion. Second in line was the deal by an investment group led by Singapore’s GIC and Temasek to acquire stake in China-based Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group for $14 billion in June.

In terms of overseas investment, Asian companies were stepping their game in 2018. Half the foreign investment into Europe involved Asian firms, which conducted the first and third largest deals in Europe in the second quarter of 2018.

In early May, Japan’s Takeda made an offer to acquire Irish biopharma firm Shire for $79.7 billion, followed by China Three Gorge’s proposed $27.4 billion takeover of energy firm EDP Energias de Portugal.

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CHINA

In the first six months of 2018, China saw an 18 percent decline in deal value to $348 billion, while deal count was still holding up, according to PwC.

Domestic strategic M&A—which means acquiring companies for integrating them in existing business—also dropped 27 percent in value. The half-year period saw 24 deals valued over $1 billion compared to 32 deals in the same period last year. Such a trend reflected the Chinese government’s effort to deleveraging.

Outbound M&A deal value was also on the decline for the fourth six-month period, even though the level still maintained a third higher than that before 2016. The decline might have to do with the Chinese government’s restriction on outbound investment in “sensitive sectors” such as real estate, hotels, cinemas, and sports clubs in February.

This was consistent with the downward trend in outbound investment throughout 2017, given that the Chinese government tightened control over capital outflow. In particular, investment into the U.S. has been falling, which accounted for a significant proportion of the overall decline in outbound M&A.

As the trade war between China and the U.S. cast a shadow over the market, a more protectionist mood would mean deals that are very large or commercially sensitive would come under heavier scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe.

As for deals targeting Chinese companies during the first half of 2018, the biggest one was Singaporean GIC’s offer to acquire stake in Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group for $14 billion in May.

Another significant deal was the acquisition of China-based Ele.me by Alibaba Group. and Zhejiang Ant Small and Micro Financial Services Group in April, which involved $9.5 billion.

International

Tier 1

Clifford Chance
Freshfields
Linklaters
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Slaughter and May

Tier 2

Allen & Overy
Baker McKenzie FenXun Joint Operation Office
Davis Polk & Wardwell
DLA Piper
Hogan Lovells
Kirkland & Ellis
Norton Rose Fulbright
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Sullivan & Cromwell
Weil, Gotshal & Manges
White & Case

Tier 3

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Mayer Brown
Morrison & Foerster
Paul Hastings
Shearman & Sterling
Sidley Austin

Notable Firms

Ashurst
Bae Kim & Lee
Baker Botts
Bird & Bird
CMS
Clyde & Co
Eversheds Sutherland
Gide Loyrette Nouel
Herbert Smith Freehills
K&L Gates
Latham & Watkins
Lee & Ko
Morgan Lewis & Bockius
O'Melveny & Myers
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
Reed Smith Richards Butler
Ropes & Gray
Stephenson Harwood
Taylor Wessing

Domestic

Tier 1

Haiwen & Partners
Han Kun Law Offices
JunHe LLP
King & Wood Mallesons
Zhong Lun Law Firm

Tier 2

AllBright Law Offices
Global Law Office
Grandall Law Firm
Guantao Law Firm
Jincheng Tongda & Neal Law Firm
Jingtian & Gongcheng
Llinks Law Offices
Tian Yuan Law Firm

Tier 3

Broad & Bright
Dahui Lawyers
DeHeng Law Offices
Grandway Law Offices
Beijing Dentons Law Offices, LLP

Notable Firms

Beijing DHH Law Firm
Co-effort Law Firm
East & Concord Partners
Long An Law Firm

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HONG KONG

During the past 12 months, Hong Kong recorded the second highest deal value in Asia at $61.5 billion, even though only 174 deals were made in the period, ranking fourth in deal count, according to Mergermarket.

A prominent deal during the first half of this year was CK Hutchison Holdings’ bid in May for Australian pipeline company APA Group for $9.8 billion. Not only is this the group’s biggest overseas acquisition, but also the second largest in Asia excluding Japan.

Last year, the Chinese government’s controls on capital outflows hampered mainland investment into Hong Kong. Then in August, China introduced new measures to clarify “encouraged”, “restricted” and “prohibited” outbound activities, which helped improve the investors’ appetite.

This was followed by mainland Chinese companies acquiring interests in Hong Kong property and insurance firms. One notable deal was the offer by Yunfeng Financial Group, a company associated with Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma, to buy Hong Kong insurer MassMutual Asia for $1.7 billion in August 2017.

Real estate was the top sector for M&A deals. A noteworthy deal was Wharf (Holdings)’s $23.3 billion spin-off of the share capital of Wharf Real Estate Investment to its shareholders in November 2017.

Other top sectors that saw active M&A deals were financial services as well as energy and infrastructure. Consumer and telecommunications and technology sectors also gained some attention from investors.

In addition, the Hong Kong government has been promoting the fintech development in the city, which boosted investment in this sector. This could be a new field for increasing M&A activity.

Furthermore, the Belt and Road initiative means new opportunities for Hong Kong companies to expand overseas, especially in the infrastructure and resources sectors.

Tier 1

Clifford Chance
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Kirkland & Ellis
Linklaters
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Slaughter and May

Tier 2

Allen & Overy
Ashurst
Baker McKenzie
Davis Polk & Wardwell
Deacons
Herbert Smith Freehills
Latham & Watkins
Norton Rose Fulbright
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Shearman & Sterling
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Sullivan & Cromwell
Weil, Gotshal & Manges

Tier 3

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Debevoise & Plimpton
DLA Piper
Hogan Lovells
King & Wood Mallesons
Mayer Brown JSM
Morrison & Foerster
Reed Smith Richards Butler
White & Case

Notable Firms

Addleshaw Goddard
Bae Kim & Lee
Baker Botts
Bird & Bird
Eversheds Sutherland
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
H.M Chan & Co. (Taylor Wessing)
Howse Williams Bowers
K&L Gates
Minter Ellison
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius (in association with Luk & Partners)
O'Melveny
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
Paul Hastings
Proskauer Rose
Ropes & Gray
Sidley Austin
Simmons & Simmons
Stephenson Harwood
Tanner De Witt
Vivien Chan & Co

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INDIA

Throughout 2017 and 2018, M&A activity in India has been robust and consistent, according to Kunal Thakore, partner at Talwar Thakore & Associates.

There were 78 announced inbound deals totalling $26.1 billion that represented 46.4 percent of the foreign investment in the region, making India a top destination in terms of deal value and deal count.

Multinational companies are looking to step up their presence in India, which has driven up the inflow of foreign direct investment to the country. One prominent example was global retailer Walmart’s $16 billion deal to buy stake in Flipkart, India's largest online retailer. This is also the biggest deal in Asia during the first half of 2018.

Another example was France’s Schneider Electric SE and Singapore’s Temasek offering $2.1 billion to buy the electrical unit of Larsen & Toubro, India’s biggest engineering and construction company, in May 2018.

Tier 1

AZB & Partners
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
Economic Laws Practice
IndusLaw
J Sagar Associates
Khaitan & Co.
Kochhar & Co.
Luthra & Luthra Law Offices
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
Trilegal

Tier 2

Bharucha & Partners
DSK Legal
Desai & Diwanji
Dua Associates
HSA Advocates
Majmudar & Partners
Nishith Desai Associates
Platinum Partners
Phoenix Legal
S&R Associates
Talwar Thakore & Associates
Vaish Associates

Notable Firms

ALMT Legal
Argus Partners
Clasis Law
Dhir & Dhir Associates
Fair & Just Legal Solutions
Fox Mandal
Juris Corp
K Law
Platinum Partners
Rajani & Associates
Samvad Partners
Sarthak Advocates & Solicitors
Singh & Associates
Singhania & Partners
Tatva Legal
Veritas Legal
Wadia Ghandy & Co

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INDONESIA

From July 2017 to June 2018, the country recorded 66 deals totalling $9.7 billion, data from Mergermarket shows.

Sectors that saw the strongest announced and completed M&A activity included mining, financial services, fintech and consumer goods. Some of the notable deals involving Indonesian firms included Temasek’s $1.1 billion divestment of its stake in Indonesian Bank Danamon to The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in December 2018, and mining company Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara PT’s acquisition of a 44.3 percent stake in Australian mining contractor Macmahon Holdings Limited for $145 million in July 2017.

Home to more than 260 million people, Indonesia is the biggest economy in Southeast Asia with a fast-growing e-commerce sector that attracted Chinese investment. In August 2017, China’s Alibaba led a $1.1 billion investment in Indonesian shopping platform Tokopedia as part of its effort to tap into Southeast Asia. In the same month, Chinese e-commerce company JD.com participated in an $800 million funding round of Indonesian ride-hailing startup Go-Jek.

Tier 1

Ali Budiardjo, Nugroho, Reksodiputro
Assegaf Hamzah & Partners
Ginting & Reksodiputro in association with Allen & Overy
Hadiputranto, Hadinoto & Partners, a member firm of Baker McKenzie
Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung in association with Herbert Smith Freehills
SSEK Legal Consultants

Tier 2

Makarim & Taira S.
Makes & Partners
Melli Darsa & Co. (PwC)
Oentoeng Suria & Partners
Soemadipradja & Taher

Tier 3

AYMP Atelier Of Law
Hanafiah Ponggawa & Partners
Lubis Ganie Surowidjojo
Mochtar Karuwin Komar
Roosdiono & Partners
Widyawan & Partners

Notable Firms

Adnan Kelana Haryanto & Hermanto
Budiarto Law Partnership
Budidjaja & Associates
Christian Teo & Partners
Hendra Soenardi
Leks&Co
Walalangi & Partners

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JAPAN

M&A activity in Japan was strong for the first six months in 2018, with the deal value reaching a fresh high to $240.9 billion. This represented a surge of 267.8 percent compared to the first half of 2017, according to Thomson Reuters.

The number of announced deals also rose to 2,025, up by 15.3 percent compared to the first half in 2017. In addition, there were 23 deals involving Japanese firms valued at over $1 billion.

The most active sectors for M&A activity were healthcare and telecommunications, which made up 57.7 percent of the market share. The healthcare sector recorded $80.2 billion, representing a 33.3 percent market share, while telecommunications surged by 1,308.8 percent to $58.7 billion in deal value, taking up 24.4 percent of market share.

Indeed, the two biggest deals involving Japanese firms in the first half of 2018 were from these two sectors. Takeda Pharmaceutical acquired Shire for $76.9 billion in May, and T-Mobile merged with Sprint for $58.7 billion in April.

Japanese firms remained active in investing overseas. Outbound activity recorded $117.9 billion in deal value, up by 249.3 percent compared to 2017. This was driven up by Takeda’s $76.9 billion acquisition of Shire, which was the largest M&A deal made by a Japanese firm and the biggest cross-border deal ever seen in the global healthcare sector.

In particular, Japanese firms preferred U.S. targets the most during the first half of this year, with 41 deals totalling $15.5 billion, according to Mergermarket.

On the other hand, the country saw the strongest domestic M&A activity for a first-half period, recording $49.9 billion in total deal value.

A notable deal was Itochu Corporation’s proposal to increase its stake in chain convenience stores operator FamilyMart UNY for $1.12 billion, the largest deal since 2015 in the consumer sector.

According to a survey by EY, 73 percent of Japanese executives plan to acquire in the next 12 months.

International

Tier 1

Allen & Overy Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo
Horitsu Jimusho
Baker McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise)
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Herbert Smith Freehills
Morrison & Foerster Ito & Mitomi
Shearman & Sterling
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Tier 2

Ashurst
Clifford Chance Law Office
Davis Polk & Wardwell
Hogan Lovells Horitsu Jimusho Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo
Linklaters
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Ropes & Gray
Sullivan & Cromwell
White & Case – White & Case Law Offices (Registered Association)

Notable Firms

DLA Piper
Jones Day
King & Spalding
Latham & Watkins Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise
Norton Rose Fulbright
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
Paul Hastings
Simmons & Simmons
Squire Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo Horitsu Jimusho

Domestic

Tier 1

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto
Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu
Nishimura & Asahi
TMI Associates

Tier 2

Anderson Mori & Tomotsune
Atsumi & Sakai

Notable Firms

City-Yuwa Partners
Hibiya-Nakata
Oh-Ebashi LPC & Partners
Southgate
Ushijima & Partners

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MALAYSIA

During the past 12 months, Malaysia came in second after Singapore in ASEAN countries in terms of deal count, recording 87 deals with a total value of $8 billion, according to Mergermarket. The country also saw 20 public deals amounting to $2.4 billion in the latter half of 2017.

Malaysian companies continued to make strong contributions to M&A in Asia. During the past 12 months, one of the notable deals was Malaysian telecommunications firm Axiata Group’s $940 million acquisition of Pakistan telecom towers firm Deodar in August 2017—one of the biggest deals in Pakistan.

Another one was energy firm Petronas’s sale of 10 percent interest in its subsidiary Petronas LNG 9 to an affiliate of Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production Public Company for around $500 million in July 2017, boosting the M&A activity in the energy sector.

Tier 1

Christopher & Lee Ong
Rahmat Lim & Partners
Shearn Delamore & Co
Skrine
Wong & Partners

Tier 2

Abdullah Chan & Co
Adnan Sundra & Low
Kadir Andri & Partners
Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill
Mah-Kamariyah & Philip Koh
Shook Lin & Bok
Zaid Ibrahim & Co (ZICO Law)
Zain & Co
Zul Rafique & Partners

Notable Firms

Albar & Partners
Azmi & Associates
Chooi & Company + Cheang & Ariff
Donovan & Ho
Jeff Leong, Poon & Wong
Mohamed Ridza & Co
Naqiz & Partners
Peter Ling & van Geyzel
Raja, Darryl & Loh
Tay & Partners

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PHILIPPINES

From July 2017 to June 2018, the Philippines recorded significantly fewer deals than other Southeast countries, but the deal value was holding up. The country saw 37 deals with a total value of $11.7 billion, suggested by data from Mergermarket.

A notable deal in the country was announced in March 2018. Aboitiz InfraCapital offered to rehabilitate, expand, modernise and operate four regional airports in the Philippines for $2.84 billion over a concession period of 35 years.

The World Bank’s June 2018 Global Economist Prospects report named the Philippines the world’s 10th fastest-growing economy thanks to its “growing consumption, steady remittance inflows, improved government spending and accommodative monetary policy.”

In 2017, the country saw the strongest M&A activity in financial services, energy and consumer goods sectors, the SGV Transaction Advisory Services team noted in an EY publication on private equity in Southeast Asia. These sectors and construction could contribute to stronger M&A activity.

Tier 1

Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALaw)
Quisumbing Torres
Picazo Buyco Tan Fider & Santos
Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan

Tier 2

Castillo Laman Tan Pantaleon & San Jose
Gatmaytan Yap Patacsil Gutierrez & Protacio (C&G Law)
Puyat Jacinto & Santos Law Offices (PJS Law)
Quiason Makalintal Barot Torres Ibarra Sison & Damaso
Villaraza & Angangco

Notable Firms

Cochingyan & Peralta Law Offices
Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia
Gorriceta, Africa, Cauton & Saavedra
Gulapa & Quicho
Martinez Vergara Gonzalez & Serrano
Morales & Justiniano
Platon Martinez Flores San Pedro & Leaño
Puno & Puno
Siguion Reyna, Montecillo & Ongsiako

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SINGAPORE

For the previous 12 months, M&A activity in Singapore was robust with 127 deals recorded, Mergermarket said.

During the first half of 2018, the total value of deals rose to $33.8 billion by 19.1 percent compared to the same period last year, data from Thomson Reuters shows.

Compared to the first quarter, the country was more active in M&A from March to June with a total deal value of $21.6 billion, driving the M&A activity this year. This represented an increase of 76.8 percent and 23.4 percent compared to the first quarter of 2018 and the same period last year, respectively.

Overall speaking, Singapore saw an uptick in disclosed M&A deals as well as domestic and outbound M&A activity in the first half of 2018.

Value of disclosed M&A deals rose to $127.1 million from $86.8 million compared to the same period in 2017.

Domestic M&A activity rose 7.5 percent in deal value to $3.8 billion despite a drop in deal count by 22.9 percent. Meanwhile, outbound M&A activity also grew 24.5 percent to $12.4 billion while witnessing a decline by 23.2 percent in deal count compared to the first half of 2017.

In the domestic M&A space, 75 percent of the deals involved the property, financial and industrial sectors. The property sector was the most active among all, with a deal value totalling $10.4 billion, representing 30.9 percent of total activity.

However, cross-border deal activity saw a downtrend. There was an 11.8 percent drop in deal value, from $19 billion in the first half of 2017 to $16.8 billion in the first six months this year. This could be explained by the weak inbound M&A activity, which saw a 51.9 percent decline to $4.3 billion.

International

Tier 1

Allen & Overy
Clifford Chance
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Latham & Watkins
Linklaters
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy

Tier 2

Ashurst
Baker McKenzie.Wong & Leow
Herbert Smith Freehills
Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee
Jones Day
Morrison & Foerster
Norton Rose Fulbright
Sidley Austin
White & Case

Tier 3

Berwin Leighton Paisner
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
HFW
King & Spalding
Shearman & Sterling
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Stephenson Harwood
Watson Farley & Williams

Notable Firms

Clyde & Co
CMS
DLA Piper
King & Wood Mallesons
Mayer Brown
Reed Smith

Domestic

Tier 1

Allen & Gledhill
Morgan Lewis Stamford
Rajah & Tann Singapore
WongPartnership

Tier 2

Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow
Dentons Rodyk

Drew & Napier
Shook Lin & Bok

Tier 3

Bird & Bird ATMD
Colin Ng & Partners
Duane Morris & Selvam
Lee & Lee
Pinsent Masons MPillay
RHTLaw Taylor Wessing
TSMP Law Corporation

Notable Firms

Eversheds Harry Elias
Loo & Partners
Prolegis
Straits Law Practice
Virtus Law – Stephenson Harwood (Singapore) Alliance
Withers KhattarWong

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SOUTH KOREA

During the last 12 months, South Korea recorded the third highest number of deals in Asia following China and Japan, with 402 deals totalling $41.2 billion, Mergermarket said.

The most active sectors for M&A in 2017 included consumer and technology, and private equity deals accounted for a big part.

South Korea's logistics company Hyundai Glovis’ $8.8 billion proposed deal with Hyundai Mobis announced in March 2018 could be the biggest transaction in the first half of 2018. Second to come was CJ O Shopping’s bid for CJ E&M announced in January 2018, which was valued at $3.8 billion.

Over the past year, South Korea saw easing geopolitical tensions with North Korea. According to KPMG, there have been more opportunities for M&A in the country in recent years. More companies are using M&A as a way to strengthen themselves in the global economy for expanding operations and gaining synergistic benefits.

International

Tier 1

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Paul Hastings

Tier 2

Clifford Chance
Herbert Smith Freehills
Ropes & Gray
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
White & Case

Tier 3

Ashurst
Baker McKenzie
McDermott Will & Emery 
Stephenson Harwood
Squire Patton Boggs

Domestic

Tier 1

Bae, Kim & Lee LLC
Kim & Chang
Lee & Ko
Shin & Kim
Yulchon

Tier 2

Barun Law
DR & AJU
Hwang Mok Park
Jipyong
KL Partners
Yoon & Yang

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TAIWAN

With a challenging 2017 now over, the value of M&A transactions in Taiwan is forecast to climb over the next two years, according to a report issued by Baker McKenzie Taipei.

Fundamentally dealmaking conditions are expected to remain solid, with stable economic growth, low inflation, and low financing costs, the firm said. It added that domestic and inbound M&A activity are forecast for upticks, supported by good global growth, reaching a value of $8.7 billion in 2019.

Meanwhile, the value of M&A transactions undertaken by local firms investing abroad in 2017 reached a record high, with $7.25 billion spent across 28 deals, said a report from White & Case. Another great year is set to be on the horizon.

Tier 1

Baker McKenzie
Jones Day
Lee and Li

Tier 2

Eiger
LCS & Partners
Lexcel Partners
Tsar & Tsai

Tier 3

Chen & Lin
Formosa Transnational Attorneys at Law
Formosan Brothers Attorneys at Law
K&L Gates
Lee, Tsai & Partners
Liang & Partners
Lin & Partners
PricewaterhouseCoopers Taiwan
Winkler Partners

Notable Firms

Huang & Partners
JTJB Taipei
Pamir Law Group
Russin & Vecchi
Yangming Partners

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THAILAND

Thailand’s M&A activity during the previous 12 months was as busy as other Southeast Asian countries. According to Mergermarket, the country saw 66 deals amounting to $11.2 billion. There were also seven public deals worth of $1.8 billion in the second half of 2017.

Thai law firm Weerawong, Chinnavat & Partners said the average transaction was up to 21 percent during the period and there were more deals with a total value of over $400 million. Some of the M&A-active sectors included consumer discretionary, industrial materials, energy, real estate, and technology.

In the past 12 months, the firm has taken part in several notable deals, including PTT Exploration and Production Public Company’s $750 million deal with Shell Integrated Gas Thailand and Thai Energy Company for stake in Bongkot Project, as well as PTT Public Company’s $771 million deal with PTT Global Chemical Public Company for transferring its petrochemical, propane and bioplastic businesses.

Other key developments in the country that could impact investor appetite are the coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn expected this year and the general election coming up in November.

Tier 1

Allen & Overy
Baker McKenzie
Chandler MHM
Linklaters
Weerawong, Chinnavat & Partners

Tier 2

DLA Piper
Hunton Andrews Kurth
Siam Premier
Thanathip & Partners
Tilleke & Gibbins

Notable Firms

Blumenthal Richter & Sumet
DFDL
Norton Rose Fulbright
Rajah & Tann Thailand
Watson Farley & Williams

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VIETNAM

Mergermarket’s data shows that the country recorded 46 deals totalling $6.9 billion during the past 12 months.

As the country’s economy grew at over 7 percent year-on-year, foreign investors have shown interest in Vietnam’s market, the real estate sector in particular. M&A activity in this sector remained robust, accounting for 66.7 percent of the total value of M&A transactions in the first half of 2018, according to figures presented at the recently held M&A Forum 2018.

A notable deal was the offer by Phu Long Real Estate Company, an affiliate of airline Vietjet’s owner Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, to acquire 50 percent of South Korean Posco E&C, which would make it a 50 percent investor at Splendora in Hanoi, one of the first large-scale real estate projects in the city.

Another one was Singaporean wealth fund GIC’s $1.3 billion investment in Vietnam’s Vingroup and its real estate arm Vinhomes to develop high-end real estate projects in Vietnam.

Tier 1

Allen & Overy
Allens
Baker McKenzie
Frasers Law Company
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Vilaf
YKVN

Tier 2

Audier & Partners
DFDL
Duane Morris Vietnam
Hogan Lovells
LNT & Partners
Mayer Brown JSM
Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers
Russin & Vecchi
Tilleke & Gibbins
Vision & Associates
ZICO Law

Notable Firms

ACS Legal
Asia Counsel Vietnam Law Company Limited
Bizlink Lawyers
DIMAC
DN Legal
EPLegal
Lexcomm Vietnam
Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu
Nishimura & Asahi
Phuoc & Partners
PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal

  

To contact the editorial team, please email ALBEditor@thomsonreuters.com.

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