Southeast Asia is fast becoming an important market for consumer goods companies looking to expand overseas, due in large part to the region’s rapidly growing middle class.
“Local players within the region, too, have been trying to consolidate as they seek to dominate leading market positions rather than diversify; to right-size, not necessarily upsize,” said Eugene Ho, Deloitte Southeast Asia’s Consumer Business Industry Leader.
Ho added that this was especially so for mature product categories such as beverages, citing examples of major acquisitions in the region such as Thai Charoen Corporation Group’s acquisition of Fraser & Neave Ltd. (F&N) in Singapore, and Heineken N.V.’s acquisition of Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd. from F&N.
Indeed, mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have been on the rise, not just in Southeast Asia, but around the globe, according to Deloitte’s 8th annual report entitled “Global powers of consumer products 2015: Connecting with the connected consumer”.