Acquisitions by Asian companies of US assets have surged to record levels as the region’s emerging industrial companies take advantage of dollar weakness to build global scale, new data have revealed.

The value of announced deals in the US by companies in Asia, excluding Japan, has climbed to $16.1bn in the year to date, smashing the full-year figures of $3.9bn last year and $1.8bn in 2005, according to Dealogic, the data provider.