JPMorgan Chase & Co predicts an increase in 30% in the value of mergers and acquisitions that it will manage in Asia for 2014, a Bloomberg report said. This will represent recovery from the decline experienced this year.
Rob Sivitilli, JPMorgan's Head of Asian M&A outside Japan, told Bloomberg that the increase in activity for JPMorgan will come from energy companies, financial firms and Asian buyers which will be expanding in the US and Europe. Data gathered by Bloomberg revealed that JPMorgan Chase ranked second among advisers in the Asian region. Last year, the lender was at fourth place.
According to Sivitilli, JPMorgan went up in deal rankings by undertaking improvements in the communication between Asian bankers and their North American and European colleagues. The report said there was a decline in takeover activity in Asia because the risk appetite of executives was reduced as economies slowed. Bloomberg data also revealed that mergers of Asian firms were lower this year at $298 billion compared to the $311 billion posted last year.
However, Sivitilli is optimistic about the bank's prospects in the coming year. In a November 25 interview with Bloomberg, he said, "We have enough visibility on first-quarter and second-quarter activity that leads us to project ourselves into a much higher level of performance in 2014. We continue to see further gains in market share."
The report said a higher ranking for JPMorgan among merger advisers in Asia this year is considered good news for the lender since it posted its first quarterly loss in October under Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon. The bank experienced a decline after it took a charge for the cost of litigation and regulatory investigations.
Sivitilli did not give a target for 2014 and did not reveal if the lender will be getting more bankers on board to anticipate the rising business volume, the report added.
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