In the previous issue, we looked at M&A trends in ASEAN in FY2020. This time, we will take a look at M&A by Japanese companies in ASEAN and Malaysia.
Trends in the number of M&A by Japanese companies in ASEAN.
In 2020, we can see that the number of M&A by Japanese companies has decreased compared to previous years in all countries except Cambodia.
M&A by Japanese Companies in Malaysia in 2020
There are 9 announced M&A by Japanese companies in Malaysia in 2020, and the list by sector is as follows.
| Field | Number of cases |
| Agriculture, forestry and fisheries | 0 |
| Manufacturing | 1 (food) |
| Mining | 0 |
| Construction and engineering | 0 |
| Advertising | 1 |
| Transportation/warehousing | 0 |
| Hospitals and health care | 0 |
| Finance | 0 |
| Retailing | 1 |
| IT | 1 |
| Other service industry | 5 |
Of these, notably, there are three cases of withdrawal from Malaysia. Specifically, at first, GMO PAYMENT GATEWAY’s 70% stake in the SMS solutions business was sold to the founder (April 2020), second, Announcement of consideration for the sale of all shares invested in developing beauty and cosmetics e‐commerce site that owns more than 83% by istyle Inc. (June 2020), and the sale by DyDo DRINCO, INC. of its wholly owned subsidiary engaged in the sale of chilled beverages and soft drinks (October 2020). Judging from the timing and content of these announcements, it can be assumed that even before the spread of the Covid‐19, it had become difficult to turn the business to profitability and that the slump in consumption caused by the Covid‐19 may have encouraged the decision to sell or withdraw from the business.
The other three deals were 100% acquisitions, including Fuji Oil’s acquisition of a subsidiary, Hitachi’s acquisition of a company that provides SaaS1 AI and data analytics services, and Secom’s acquisition of a company in the same industry, with the remaining three deals being partial investments in Startup company.