Citi’s Top Tokyo Banker Predicts Deal Surge After Stagnation

Citigroup Inc.’s top investment banker in Japan expects merger business in the country to double in the near future, adding to growing optimism among Wall Street banks after watching the nation’s share of dealflow stagnate for decades.

Business sentiment is rising in Japan, and companies have excess cash that shareholders and the government want them to put to work, said Masuo Fukuda, head of investment banking at the US firm in Tokyo.

Masuo Fukuda

Source: Citi

“It could happen in the next couple of years,” he said, referring to the expected uptick in dealmaking. “Everybody is at full capacity at the ...