Middle Eastern (Mideast) and Japanese companies are increasingly seeing Southeast Asia as a destination of choice to deploy capital, as they pivot some of potential investments away from the rest of Asia, according to Bank of America Corp’s Singapore country head Martin Siah.

Sectors such as healthcare and digital infrastructure, renewable energy and financial services are among the busiest, Siah said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Wednesday.

“Southeast Asia is at the cusp of a supergrowth cycle,” Siah said, referring to record foreign direct investments in the last couple of years. “We’re very bullish for the M&A (merger and acquisition) outlook.”

Within the region, Singapore plays a critical role as a hub for many businesses, particularly financial institutions. It has in recent months turned into a hive of activity for M&As, helped by relative economic and political stability.

“We’re seeing a sudden frenzy of M&A activity in Singapore,” said Siah, who also heads Bank of America’s global corporate and investment banking in Southeast Asia. “My bankers on the deal front have been kept very busy, year-to-date.”

However, while M&A activity remains strong, Siah said initial public offerings (IPOs) and equity capital markets in Southeast Asia have hit a pause in the last 12- to 18 months. Nevertheless, he sees potential for a resurgence of IPOs in the future, based on green shoots in the pipeline.

  - Bloomberg