Dealmaking is going to get even busier in technology, telecommunications and media in the Asia Pacific region next year, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co, building on the four-year high reached this year.

Activity “has substantially picked up,” Mark Fiteny, head of JPMorgan’s TMT investment banking practice in APAC, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday. “We’re seeing a backlog in size that we haven’t seen since 2021,” and the outlook is “as robust as we’ve seen in a long time.”

Tech initial public offerings in places such as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Japan and India will be a key driver and account for most of the wallet, he said, referring to deal fees. In Hong Kong alone, more than $32 billion has been raised in IPOs this year, data compiled by Bloomberg shows.  

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Tech is playing a critical role as industries undergo profound change, including health care, financial services, automotive, and consumer and retail, Fiteny said. While geopolitical tensions are challenging and can make transactions more complex, they haven’t impacted the ability to serve clients, said Fiteny, whose team is hosting a global TMT conference in Hong Kong this week.

Another area of growth will be related to artificial intelligence, with companies raising capital via equity, debt and strategic partners, he said.

“We’re seeing a lot of fundamental growth activity in India, a lot of market activity in Japan,” Fiteny said. “The core growth engine though, for Asia, is China.”