How Are the Determinants of Emerging Asia's Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions Inflows Different from Outflows?

This paper investigates whether the determinants of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) inflows are different from those of outflows in emerging Asia. We use an augmented gravity model with bilateral cross-border M&A data from 2000 to 2015 for 13 emerging Asian countries. We find that the stock market size of the source country matters for both M&A inflows and outflows. In addition, the motives of firms seeking foreign markets, natural resources, and lower labor costs drive both M&A inflows and outflows. Finally, both the bank credit and the stock market liquidity of the source country play important roles in M&A inflows only, not in M&A outflows.