The value of M&A deals, equity issuances, and primary bond offerings also smashed records.

Investment banking fees in the Asia Pacific excluding Japan reached $27.5b in 2020, up 23.4% than in 2019, driven by a surge of activity in Chinese capital markets, data from Refinitiv showed.

This marks the highest annual period for Asian fees since Refinitiv began to take records in 2000. This is also the first-time ever that Asian investment banking fees surpassed European fees.

The value of announced mergers & acquisition (M&A) deals involving APAC companies excluding Japan stood at $1t in 2020, a 10.3% rise from a year ago. This was primarily driven by the rebound of deal-making activity during the second half of the year. Value rebounded 85.5% whilst volumes rebounded 24.1% in H2 2020 compared to the first

Meanwhile, equity and equity-related issuance in the region reached a record $409.9b worth of proceeds in 2020, up 66.5% from a year ago. This surpassed the annual record set in 2010 of $342.5b.

Asia also saw the busiest-ever period in 2020 as number of issuances grew 40.2% from a year ago.

Primary bond offerings from Asia Pacific-domiciled issuers also reached an all-time high and witnessed proceeds hitting the US$3t mark for the first time since Refinitiv’s records began in the 1970s. Bond proceeds from Asian issuers totaled $3.1t, a 23.3% increase from a year ago, beating 2019’s record of $2.5t.