Closed deal activity remained below potential in Q1

Mixed market sentiment was evident in closed transaction activity during the first quarter. Globally, direct investment declined by 6% year-over-year to US$135 billion in the quarter. Over the trailing 12-month period, volumes declined 34% globally. The pace of declines continued to moderate across the Americas and EMEA, an early signal of growth, and investment activity in Asia Pacific improved for the second consecutive quarter. Growth was evident in Asia Pacific across nearly all sectors and in several markets, led by South Korea (up 73% year-over-year), Japan (up 29%) and Singapore (up 14%). 

As the market improves, divergent sectoral dynamics remain, and capital is most focused on deploying to growth-oriented sectors such as logistics, living and data centers. The extent of these shifts varies around the world, influenced by differences in the investible universe, risk profile and sector forecasts. During the quarter, activity was most resilient in the industrial and logistics sector, where strong investor interest supported activity gains of 2% globally year-over-year. Sector diversification will remain in focus for investors and is increasingly evident in strategic transactions. With improvements in debt markets and liquidity, M&A activity – including deals of scale – is increasing, in particular for logistics, data center and living platforms.