In the Philippines, the Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) market is an emerging industry that is set to make its mark in the coming years. In other countries where the M&A market is already ripe such as Japan, US or in Europe, the Philippines is at the start of maturity -- which is the most ideal time of all, when opportunities abound.
This was recognized by Hideki Tanifuji early on, a Japanese national who has made the Philippines his new home. Back in 2015, Tanifuji already saw the untapped potential of the M&A industry in the country, saying that this is similar to the business climate in Japan in the early 90's.
Three years later, in 2018, Tanifuji was proven correct. The company that he established, Asian Mergers & Acquisitions Links (AMAL), has been making significant progress in the Philippine M&A field. AMAL has already closed more than a dozen deals, linking Japanese companies to local partners who are in need of additional capital to expand their businesses. It is a win-win situation where both parties can capitalize on each partner's strength.
"A lot of the more economically mature countries such as Japan are looking for investments or acquisition opportunities in the ASEAN, specifically in the Philippines. AMAL is leading the way as we have the expertise and the credibility to create a successful M&A deal," he adds, noting that AMAL has been involved in companies related to real estate, It, BPO, manufacturing, consumer goods, among others.
Record breaking 2018
The year 2018 was a record breaking year for AMAL. One of its most successful endeavors is bringing to the country a leading Japanese real estate company Kyushu Yaesu. AMAL found a suitable joint venture partner for Kyushu Yaesu after due diligence and market research.
Today, the joint venture company is currently finishing building residential houses for the the mid- and low-cost market in Cagayan de Oro. After that, they will be looking in various provinces to build their next projects such as townhouses and condominiums.
"AMAL envisions that this project will not only show a successful joint venture but also will help enhance the quality and expose our local real estate industry to the best practices of foreign real estate companies," says Tanifuji. "We want to also show foreign companies that our real estate industry is not behind in terms of the designs and of the quality houses that our local developers can deliver."
Aside from closing various M&A deals, AMAL was able to transfer to a more spacious and modern office in Bonifacio Technology Center. AMAL was also able to lay the groundwork of establishing a subsidiary in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok to cater to the ASEAN market in the first quarter of 2019.
"We are still a young company but we are continuously growing in operations. In fact, we want to become the top M&A company in the Philippines and one of the leading in Asia. We are now the biggest in the industry in terms of manpower as we have 90 employees composed of the management team, HR, IT staff, accountants, marketing analysts, consultants, and foreign language speakers/ translators," Tanifuji explains.
AMAL currently has five Japanese speakers, two Mandarin speakers and one Cantonese speaker, proving that it has set its sight in the lucrative Japanese and Chinese investors market.
Opportunities for growth in 2019
Envisioning the long-term growth of the business, AMAL is also aiming to list in SME board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) by 2020. This is also the main growth strategy of Tanifuji to accelerate growth of the company. Aside from the publicly-listed M&A firms in Japan, AMAL will be the only M&A firm to be listed in any Asian stock exchange.
Additionally, AMAL is targeting to be the number one in the ASEAN region and grow its workforce to 200 employees by 2020.
Asian Mergers and Acquisition Links main headquarters is located at Unit 8, 3rd Floor, Bonifacio Technology Center, 31st Street corner 2nd Avenue, Crescent Park West, BGC, Taguig City. Call 0917-8127145 for more information or visit www.asian-ma.com.
