Outbound acquisitions volume increased to US$12.4b YTD

Inbound M&A Volume Down 35.3%; Slowest Since 2006

Deal activity by foreign acquirors buying into Singaporean companies declined in value with a total of US$5.1 billion so far this year, a 35.3% drop from the first nine months of 2010. Deal activity per quarter slowed down to U$811.4 million so far this quarter, down from US$1.6 billion in 2Q 2011, and US$2.7 billion in 1Q 2011.

This is the slowest first three quarter volume for Singapore inbound M&A since 2006 (US$4.2 billion).

Foreign buyers focused on acquisitions in the Financials (US$2.2 billion) and Industrials (US$819.1 million) sectors of Singapore, accounting for 44.1% and 16.0% of the inbound activity.

Outbound Acquisitions - Highest Since 2008

Singaporean acquisitions abroad showed steady increase as volume this year amounted to US$12.4 billion, slightly higher than last year’s US$12.2 billion during the January to September period. This is the busiest first three quarter period since 2008 when deal value reached US$15.0 billion.

The bulk of Singapore’s outbound activity was targeted in United States (US$3.6 billion) and China (US$3.4 billion), which accounted for 29.2% and 27.3%, respectively, of the nation's foreign acquisitions. China saw the most
number of transactions with 61 deals.