As many as 17 merger and acquisition (M&A) deals with a combined investment of $940 million have been made by Singapore companies with the Indian enterprises in the first half of this year, a global valuation services firm has said.

"Almost all of them were transactions where the acquirer is from Singapore and the target from India," said Duff & Phelps Managing Director Srividya Gopalakrishnan.

The 17 deals saw a combined investment of $940 million.

The big deals included Government Investment Corporation's (GIC) acquisition of stakes in Viviana Mall, Greenko Energy and Bandhan Bank; as well as Singapore Technologies Telemedia's acquisition of controlling stake in Tata Communications Data Centre business.

There were four M&A deals of $95 million between Malaysian and Indonesian companies and Indian enterprises, the consultancy said in its report "Transaction Trail" released this week , on mergers, acquisitions, private equity deals and initial public offerings in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The four M&As included Malaysia's Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) 30% stake in GMR Energy Ltd Energy $300 million.

"Some of the above stake acquisitions are by investment funds. As any other investors, their drive is to make a good return on their investments," said Gopalakrishnan.

"India has been a key destination for inbound M&As (foreign companies acquiring Indian businesses) over the years across different segments," she noted.

India offers huge domestic markets for local consumption. It also offers several capabilities and benefits for export-oriented units including but not limited to technology and manufacturing set-ups, Gopalakrishnan highlighted.

"International companies have managed to successfully make acquisitions or enter into joint ventures in India. M&A has been one of the ways in which they have expanded their India footprint," she said.

"Many companies have realised that M&A is not something exotic, but it is a strategy relevant for their day-to-day business," elaborated Gopalakrishnan.

"As we see a slow-down in growth rates in developing countries and modest growth rates in mature markets, inorganic opportunities become critical for sustenance.

"This also helps companies internationalise their businesses, add-on service offerings, leverage on global capabilities and mitigate their own shortcomings," she said.