The mergers and acquisition market in Asia is holding up better than in Europe and North America, underlining easier access to funds in the region and the global expansion drive by Chinese and Indian companies, according to bankers.

Since the start of January, M&A transactions in Asia-Pacific have amounted to $236.5bn, a fall of 5.8 per cent from a year earlier, according to data from Dealogic. By comparison, the M&A declines in Europe and North America are respectively 31.8 per cent and 37 per cent.