M&A Maturity Index

The M&A Research Centre at Cass Business School and a Big Four accounting firm have published the 2012 M&A Maturity Index and ranked Singapore as the world’s second most attractive market to do mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The research analysed each country's regulatory, political, economic and financial environments, technological capability, socio-economic characteristics, as well as infrastructure and assets. The index ranked 148 countries on their ability to attract both domestic and cross border M&A deals. The United States has retained the top spot, while the United Kingdom took third place. Out of the top 10 M&A locations globally, Asian countries now make up more than half, with Hong Kong (4th), South Korea (5th), China (9th) and Japan (10th). Other top performers include Malaysia, as well as several countries in the Gulf States. The rankings also reflect Asia as an increasingly "mature" region to conduct global transactions. The research noted that high rankings do not necessarily connote high M&A volumes. The strongest factors driving M&A volume were technological developments and socio-economic characteristics followed by of economic and financial characteristics.