Singapore led Southeast Asia in private capital investment last year, with US$3.7bn secured, comprising 41.1% of the region’s private equity deal value in 2023, a new report has found.
Singapore also topped the region in transaction volume, completing 62 out of the 109 deals made across Southeast Asia, The Straits Times reported, citing global management consultancy Bain & Company’s South-east Asia Private Equity Report 2024.
Indonesia, the region’s largest economy, ranked second.
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Last year, the private equity markets across the region, including Singapore, suffered a drop in activity as “higher for longer” interest rates and uncertain global growth have dampened investor appetite for risk, according to Fortune magazine.
Deal values in Southeast Asia dropped 35% from 2022 to hit $9 billion in 2023, while the overall number of deals fell 40% to 109.
Singapore, in particular, saw its private equity deal value halved from US$7.4 billion in 2022 and volume slid by 37% from 99 in 2022.
The internet and tech sector, which has been accounting for more than half of all deals in the region since 2018, continued to receive the most private equity investment in 2023.
The healthcare sector, which is quickly growing as an attractive target for investors, made up 24% of the region’s deal value last year with several large transactions, according to business news site The Edge Singapore.
Looking ahead, the consumer products sector will become a hotspot for investment thanks to the region’s rising incomes, according to Bain’s report.
Dealmaking in Southeast Asia has been sluggish this year. In the first quarter of 2024, private equity deals amounted to $1.4 billion, projecting an annual total of $5.6 billion, which is 37.8% lower than last year.
The full article is available here. This article was published at Private Equity Insights.
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