MERGERS and acquisitions (M&A) deal value in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan "nosedived" 24.5 per cent for the first three months of 2019 to 666 deals worth US$119.9 billion – its lowest since the first quarter of 2014, amid economic headwinds and the unresolved US-China trade war. Notable exceptions were Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, where M&A value increased despite fewer deals, due to a number of large cap deals.