King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have emerged as the top M&A advisors in Asia Pacific for H1 2014 as deals in the region surged thanks to a strong second quarter.

Research by Mergermarket found that KWM advised on the highest number of transactions for the second half-year running, acting on 60 deals worth $35.7bn, while Freshfields came top for deal value, representing clients on just 16 transactions but worth a massive $66.2bn.

H1 was the strongest half year since 2001 for M&A in Asia Pacific, with a total count of 1,402 deals valued at $286.7bn, compared 1,234 deals worth $182.8bn for the same period in 2013 – a rise of 56.8% in value and 14% in number.

Research showed inbound M&A in particular was on an upward trend, with the most deals seen in the consumer sector. China remains the most targeted country in Asia Pacific with deals valued at $128.1bn, up 67.4% from H1 2013.

Other firms ranked highly in the league tables included Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Allens and Herbert Smith Freehills, as well as a number of top US and local firms.

For deal volume, Korean outfit Lee & Ko climbed from 31st place in H1 2013 to fourth this year advising on 37 deals, while US firm O'Melveny & Myers moved up from position 24 to nine and China's Grandall went from 37th place to 10th.

As for value, Chinese outfit JiaYuan Law Offices came second after Freshfields advising on 14 transactions valued at $45.1bn, moving from 16th place last year.

Other top movers included Kim & Chang, which was ranked 6th for deal value in the first half of 2014 up from 17th in 2013, Allens, which moved from 20th place to eighth, and Davis Polk & Wardwell, which came ninth this year, up from 19th for the same period 12 months ago.

Broken down by region, the research showed that Freshfields also topped the rankings for M&A value in Greater China and South East Asia, moving respectively from 14th place and 12th place in H1 2013. In Korea the firm was also ranked sixth, having not made the list for Korean deals last year. However, the firm was not among the top 10 advisors in India or Australasia.

Advising on the highest number of transactions in each region were mostly local firms, with Grandall ranked first in Greater China, Allen & Gledhill ranked number one in South East Asia, King & Wood Mallesons topping the list in Australia, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co in India and Kim & Chang in South Korea.

The latter three firms were also number one in their respective regions for deal value.