China M&A transaction volume to bottom out this year, rise 15% in 2025: UBS

UBS, citing data from Dealogic, said China M&A deal volume in the first 11 months of 2024 fell 10 per cent from a year earlier to US$297 billion, putting it on track to sink for the third year in a row. The tally, covering mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, was the lowest in at least a decade, it said.

A rebound is on the cards for next year, according to Samson Lambert Lo, M&A co-head for Asia-Pacific at UBS, as lower interest rates prompt private equity funds to increase their deal making activities and participate in the privatisations of listed companies in Hong Kong.

“It will definitely be higher next year, with transaction volume increasing by 15 per cent or more,” he said.

Taking companies private has become the “talk of the town” in Asia, as share prices remain challenged in markets like Hong Kong, the bank said in a presentation on Tuesday.