Asian M&A deals are on the rise and the recruitment market for senior investment bankers is spluttering slowly back into life.

There are several key M&A drivers in Asia, according to Sandeep Pahwa, Deutsche Bank's head of Southeast Asia banking.

"In the financial institutions space, for example, regulatory requirements, foreign players exiting the market, and local banks flushed with liquidity looking for pan-regional growth, will drive M&A," he adds.

Pahwa says natural resources is another hot sector because of: "Strong interest from global strategics, Australian and Chinese players, and end-users looking to secure supply."

Unsurprisingly, recruitment consultants say M&A hiring is concentrated in the most active coverage industries, in particular FIG and resources.

But although the employment market is on the up, hiring activity is nowhere near the frothy levels seen during the boom years.

In the wake of the global financial crisis, some acquisition-hungry Asian companies are still reluctant to deal with international banks, says Richard Mills, chairman of Chalre Associates Executive Search.

"It seems that many of the large family-owned organisations in Asia are still upset over the recent behaviour of the international banks. It will be some time before they will trust their money with them again," adds Mills.

M&A recruitment remains rooted at the revenue-generating senior end. Recent high-profile moves include Kalpana Desai, Merrill Lynch's former Asia M&A head, who has joined Macquarie Group in Hong Kong.

Annie Yap, founder of search firm AYP Associates, says the pick-up in investment banking hiring started in the third quarter of this year.

"I think the worst’s over, but we still need to be cautious and not overly ambitious to expand too fast, too quickly," she says.