The recent surge in activist shareholder activity in Asia-Pacific continues to pressure public companies, boardrooms and senior executives across the region. In the first half of 2025, activist investors launched 40 public campaigns in Asia, continuing the recent trend of elevated activist activity. This makes Asia-Pacific the second most popular region for activist targets behind only North America.

In addition to an increase in the number of activists demanding greater efficiency and better performance, consolidation through mergers and acquisitions, and a renewed focus on shareholder returns, regulatory shifts such as Japan’s evolving merger guidelines are driving both cultural and operational changes at Asia-Pacific corporations. These changes raise the stakes for how corporate leaders, Board members and advisors engage effectively with their stakeholders and communicate their investor narrative amid a volatile market.

To help corporations sort through these challenges, H/Advisors gathered its senior experts in the region, Ang Shih-Huei, CEO of H/Advisors Klareco in Singapore, and Dan Underwood, CEO of Ashton Consulting in Tokyo, for a roundtable discussion with Dan Scorpio, Head of the M&A and Activism Practice at H/Advisors Abernathy in New York.

Dan Scorpio: What factors are driving the increase in activist investor activity across Asia-Pacific? Do you expect this level of activity will continue?

Dan Underwood: The main driver is that there are many great undervalued companies to invest in, across all sectors and of all sizes. This is especially the case in Japan but it is true across Asia as well. These companies contain many of the classic triggers for investor activism: excess cash, undervalued technology or intellectual property, high unrealized gains on assets or shares, an excess of non-core or non-performing assets, underperforming conglomerates—you name it.

In Japan specifically, there is also a strong tailwind from the succession of revised government and Tokyo Stock Exchange guidelines regarding corporate governance, PBR, takeovers and MBOs in recent years. All the signs suggest that there are many more years of this to come.

Ang Shih-Huei: Activist investors are just beginning to target Singapore companies, though we expect this activity will soon begin to increase. Leadership teams, especially at large cap companies, are preparing now for this trend to arrive in Singapore. They are asking: What are my risks? How vulnerable are we? Are we prepared to respond? Many Singapore-based companies already have significant international exposure and large-cap companies based here have been adopting global best practices regarding corporate governance and shareholder engagement, so there isn’t the same level of underperforming conglomerates as in Japan.

Dan: What are the primary demands activists make of Asia-Pacific companies? Have those demands changed over time?

Shih-Huei: While I said that many Singapore companies are ahead of Asia peers in corporate governance, Board diversity is one area where we are lacking. When we speak about Board diversity in Asia, we primarily mean gender. Singapore-listed companies do not have enough women serving on corporate Boards. Other areas of activist focus are as expected. Shareholder activists are effective at identifying cash-rich Asian companies that are undervalued, where shareholders do not believe they are seeing sufficient value in a timely manner. These activists are very active, for lack of a better word, in demanding that companies unlock shareholder value in a more expeditious manner than current practice.

Dan: Proposals in Japan used to be predominantly aimed at quick wins from the balance sheet, which led to claims of short-termism and made the term ‘vulture fund’ common in media coverage. Now we are seeing more heavily researched and detailed strategic proposals, where the activist believes there is an opportunity to fundamentally transform and grow the business over the longer term. And we are seeing more examples of company Boards engaging constructively with investors.

Dan: In North America, the number of public activist shareholder campaigns dipped slightly this year as a result of tariff uncertainty and market volatility. But rebounding M&A activity has led to an expectation that 2026 will be busy for activist shareholders, with M&A demands at the forefront. How common are demands for strategic alternatives, break-ups or other M&A ideas among activists targeting Asian companies?

Dan: There have been several high-profile cases in Japan over the past few years for break-ups or other major strategic changes, and there is no sign of this stopping. Boards are now having to seriously consider proposals for strategic options that were previously very rare in this market, such as MBOs and other forms of take-privates. M&A between major domestic companies is still rare, primarily for cultural reasons that are slowly changing, which means there has been a lot of skepticism about the now-scuttled merger between Honda and Nissan.

Shih-Huei: We know these type of demands are common in the United States and starting to emerge in Japan. In our view, this means that Singapore and Hong Kong will be next. These two markets are truly global and large companies based here tend to have operations all over the world. We are seeing activist M&A demands in the REIT sector and Singapore is a hub for public REITS in Asia. One example was Sabana REIT, which in 2024 agreed to an activist demand to replace its external manager with an internal manager. This was a first for the Singapore market, and came after the same activist was successful in convincing Sabana shareholders to vote down a proposed merger.

Our team frequently advises our clients to monitor what is happening in the U.S. because those trends will soon make their way to the Asian footprints of those companies. The reverse is also true. A vulnerability in a company’s Asian footprint, if not managed correctly, could attract activist attention even if the company is listed in New York or London.

Dan: What is the perception of activist shareholders among other investors across Asia? Has this perception changed over time?

Shih-Huei: Activist investors are relatively unknown today in Singapore. There are not that many “Asia-grown” activists that our companies come across and we most often see activists who started in the U.S. or Europe, but are now looking further afield to Asia for new opportunities. We expect this will continue.

Dan: In Japan, a lot of investors have quietly made a lot of money by following the activists.

How do media outlets cover activism in your regions and is media coverage typically led by national-specific outlets or the global news services? Activists in the United States are very skilled at engaging with media to advance their objectives. Is the same true across Asia?

Dan: Media coverage of activism in Japan has become more open and objective, which partly reflects the modern regulatory environment I mentioned earlier. We see issuers and investors using a mix of national and international media to break news, depending on the industry and who they want to reach. Corporations are getting better at communicating, starting from a low base. Management teams know they must proactively sell, and keep selling, their strategy to investors. Keep in mind, however, that the vast majority of engaged investors achieve their goals in Japan without ever going to the media.

Shih-Huei: It’s interesting because we don’t yet have a full sample size to assess. From what we have seen in Singapore and Hong Kong from activist investors, media in our markets have given activist demands a mouthpiece and have been very interested in the public exchange of statements and comments between the activist and the company. I think this is partly because this type of activity is so new to us. Activists make news and they are more unpredictable than corporate reporters are used to in Asia, so media have paid close attention to activists so far.

What are essential steps corporate leadership teams and Boards of Directors can take to ensure they are prepared for this increased risk of shareholder activism?

Shih-Huei: Companies need to assess their vulnerabilities and do so honestly. I serve on Singapore’s Council for Board Diversity and women make up just 25% of Board representation on listed entities here, which, as a global financial hub, is not good enough. Sustainability reporting is also an area where Singapore and Hong Kong companies need to focus. Investors are paying close attention to the right level of sustainability initiatives for each individual company, proper disclosure and ability to meet targets set for 2030 that many companies will need to roll back. These decisions will almost certainly affect operational performance and shareholder value creation, which can create activist pressure.

Dan: Stock performance and a strong balance sheet are among the most effective deterrents of shareholder activism. Companies across Asia should ask themselves: Are we using our cash effectively and appropriately? Are we returning sufficient capital to shareholders? Could our capital allocation policies be refreshed? Are we engaging with and responsive to shareholders up and down our register? Are we communicating our near-term initiatives and long-term strategy in a clear and compelling way?

Dan: Lastly, how should multinational corporations think about their communications and stakeholder engagement strategies across their entire global footprint during high-stakes situations such as these?

Dan: Companies need to be organized and prepared. Improvisation is not a successful strategy during high-stakes situations. We advise organizations to begin by understanding who they need to reach across their entire organization, the best channels through which to reach them and the appropriate timing so that leadership’s messages resonate. Navigating global time zones can become very complex very quickly if your company has employees located in Asia, Europe and North America. This is a detail-oriented process that cannot be left to the last minute.

Shih-Huei: Global companies need to diversify their communications approach to focus on more than headquarters. Localize your approach to ensure you are covering the specific needs, questions and styles of each of your geographies. Remember that your priority stakeholders are also international, and you may be affected by trends in other markets.

Dan: Shih-Huei raises an excellent point regarding the need for a customed approach. The way all of us consume information has changed so much the last few years. An email from the CEO may not be as effective today as it once was. Our clients are using text messages, videos, WhatsApp groups and messages delivered by QR code or specialized apps to reach specific groups of teams and customers.

Shih-Huei: Lastly, corporations headquartered in New York or London – or anywhere – must remember that Asia is not a monolith. Asia is a very complex and fragmented market, with different languages and cultures across economies in different stages of development. What is effective in Singapore may not be as effective in Japan, Malaysia or Hong Kong. That local knowledge and the right lens into every key market for your business is necessary for effective stakeholder communication in today’s volatile marketplace.

M&A and Shareholder Activism

H/Advisors consistently ranks among the top M&A communications, activism defense, capital markets and stakeholder engagement advisors globally. Most recently, our M&A advisory ranked #2 in Europe, with France ranking #1 and the UK ranking #3 according to Mergermarket’s Global and Regional M&A PR Advisors for 1H25. Our experienced capital markets communications team has advised public companies, private equity firms, privately held organizations and founder-led businesses on nearly 1,500 transactions and hundreds of investor/activist engagement matters in the past decade. With a distinctive data-driven practice, senior-led counsel and a tailored approach that incorporates a focus on all stakeholders, our capital markets advisory team has established itself as a leader in transformative, high-stakes situations.

Published in The Edge Singapore, financial news outlet, on August 20, 2025. 

Regional contacts: