Bankers bet on continued Asian M&A upswing

Corporate deal making in Asia is well placed to continue recovering in 2014 as asset price volatility eases, encouraging more chief executives to seek out new opportunities, and as more Japanese companies emerge from the shadows, keen to do business.

Thanks in part to the ambitions of fast-growing companies such as Thailand's CP Group, the volume of mergers and acquisitions MA crept up to $491 billion in the year to October-end from $465 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to data provider Dealogic. 

The recovery in MA will likely gather pace next year as asset prices settle, say...