White Clarke has published its annual Global Leasing Report, which reveals the top 5 markets in 2016 as well as growth figures for the top 50.

White Clarke’s Global Leasing Report shows continued strength and growth for the industry.

Outlining how the industry has seen significant growth and introduced new and innovative ways to finance equipment for companies worldwide, the report shows the United States remains in first place. However, according to the Survey of Equipment Finance Activity (SEFA), the US witnessed decelerated growth from 11.10% in 2015 to 2.54% in 2016 in new business volume.

China continued its rapid rise gaining on the US as the second largest leasing market, up 61.9% to US$206bn (€167bn) in 2016. Major market growth has seen leasing become regarded as an important finance option in the domestic economy.

In third and fourth are the UK and Germany, which remain the dominant players in Europe, accounting for 42% of the European market total. In 2016, the UK industry captured US$81.8bn (€66.3bn) of new business registering a significant growth rate of 8.98% as compared with the previous year amid challenging economic conditions over the uncertainty of the Brexit negotiations. Germany registered positive growth of 3.42% in comparison to 2015 and with new business volume of US$64.3bn (€52.1bn)

Japan, experienced a small decrease in lease transaction volume in 2016 of -1.3%. However it still remains the second largest market in Asia behind China.

Overall, the report shows the top 50 countries in 2016 reporting growth in new business volume of 9.40% rising from US$ 1,005.30bn (€814.7bn) in 2015 to US$ 1,099.8bn (€891.3bn) in 2016.

Looking ahead, Brendan Gleeson, group CEO at White Clarke Group, said: “The year 2017 has brought significant socioeconomic events, namely Brexit negotiations and tense political situations over the world. It is quite early to assess how these markets will react to these events, however the tone for 2018 is currently optimistic regardless of such instabilities in international economies.”