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APAC Private Equity's Paradox: Better Execution, Narrower Playbook

Top Three Takeaways From the 2026 Private Equity Value Creation Index

Asia Pacific (“APAC”) private equity presents a distinctive picture. Compared with North America, APAC firms deploy most value creation levers less frequently but often execute them more efficiently when they do. The challenge is therefore not simply weaker M&A and technology capability. It is whether APAC firms can scale their proven operational strengths and translate them into repeatable growth across fragmented, multi-market economies. The findings from FTI Consulting’s recent survey of 555 senior private equity leaders across 14 countries point to a narrower but effective APAC playbook today - with M&A integration, technology enablement, commercial execution and the ability to evidence value at exit determining whether that advantage can be sustained.

Below we summarise the three key areas in the survey where APAC private equity diverges most sharply from global peers - and consider what’s driving these gaps:

Takeaway 1. APAC’s Edge: Executing Fewer Levers Better

APAC is the only region where an operational lever - supply chain and procurement - tops the outperformance list, with 48% exceeding expectations (vs 36% in North America). Implementation efficiency at 71% (vs 55% in North America) is the highest for any lever in any region. The pattern extends beyond supply chain: When APAC firms deploy a lever, they tend to execute it well. Cost structure implementation efficiency (65% vs 58% North America), sales force effectiveness (69% vs 56%) and pricing implementation all match or exceed global peers.

The gap is not in execution quality - it is in deployment breadth. APAC firms deploy nearly every lever less frequently than North America, potentially reflecting leaner operating partner teams: 47% of APAC firms have no dedicated operations team or only a lean team, compared with 39% in North America. When APAC firms do deploy operational levers, they often execute them well and, in areas such as supply chain and cost optimisation, are more likely to exceed their own business case. This suggests they are turning regional complexity - fragmented markets, multi-jurisdictional supply networks and working capital dynamics - into an operational advantage.

Takeaway 2. M&A Is the Top Global Priority – but APAC Faces a Steeper Climb

With M&A now the top global priority for 2026, APAC faces a steeper climb than any other region. M&A frequency trails at 66% (vs 81% in North America), and 20% of APAC firms have never deployed M&A as a value creation lever. Among those that did, only 41% exceeded expectations (vs 53% in North America), and just 23% described implementation as efficient (vs 40% in North America). The difference in time to value is starkest here: only 20% of APAC firms see near-term M&A results, compared with 27% in North America and 31% in Latin America. Integration complexity across fragmented, multi-jurisdictional markets is the likely driver - and suggests that building dedicated M&A integration capabilities should be a priority for APAC-focused firms over the next 12 months.

Takeaway 3. Technology & AI: Strong Execution, but Uneven Adoption and Scale

APAC’s technology challenge is less about whether firms can execute and more about whether they can scale consistently. Technology optimisation adoption trails every other region at 76%, compared with 92% in North America, and 17% of APAC firms have never deployed technology modernisation across their portfolios. AI presents a more mixed picture. Adoption is lower, at 46% versus 55% in North America, but 48% report efficient implementation and 14% exceed expectations - both the highest of any region. At the same time, 23% underperform, and only 54% see value within 12 months, compared with 66% globally. This points to a divide within APAC: a small group is extracting strong value from AI, while others remain constrained by technology foundations and the ability to scale proven use cases.

Summary: APAC Executes Well, but Needs To Scale Faster

APAC’s 2026 priorities reinforce its narrower, operations-led playbook. Supply chain ranks as the top priority - the only region where this is the case, with 21% ranking it first compared with 7% in North America. M&A, despite becoming the leading global priority, was selected by only 10% of APAC respondents as a top priority. The region is doubling down on what it executes well, but a narrower playbook creates longer-term risk if firms cannot extend the same execution discipline into technology, M&A integration, and commercial growth. This also matters at exit. Buyers will be less interested in the value created since acquisition than in the quality and resilience of the earnings they are acquiring, the organisation’s capacity for further change and the value creation headroom that remains.

Explore the full findings from FTI Consulting’s Private Equity Value Index 2026

Footnote:

1: All statistics provided in this article are based on the FTI Consulting report, “Private Equity Value Creation Index 2026: The Value Creation Edge.”