The Asia-Pacific food and beverage markets showed signs of growth over the past six months. Most leading companies in the sector experienced moderate growth in sales and profitability in the latter half of 2012, fueled by the growing health consciousness of the middle class, rising standards of living and higher disposable incomes. Nevertheless, the average stock price of the leading food and beverage companies in the Asia- Pacific by revenues as tracked by Mergent dropped 11.53% over the period from August 1, 2012, to January 2. Threats of volatile food and raw material prices, unfavorable currency fluctuations and price competition dampened the investment climate in the industry. Merger and acquisition activity remained slow over the past six months as the continued global economic slowdown, regulatory reforms together with uncertainty over the eurozone financial crisis scared away potential investors.