With global businesses and investors growing weary of China's anaemic economic rebound and geopolitical upheaval, Southeast Asia has continued to solidify its standing as a key regional destination for dealmaking. While 2023 didn't match the highs of 2022, either in terms of deal value ($129.8 billion versus $90.6 billion) or volume (1,278 versus 933) – as per research from Mergermarket, White & Case, and ION Analytics) – last year dwarfed 2021 in terms of number of deals, and beat both 2019 and 2020 in terms of total amount.