Technology firm White Clarke has released its tenth edition of the Global Leasing Report.

According to the report, for the fourth consecutive year since the global economic crisis, the leasing industry has enjoyed growth in new business volumes, and the outlook is cautiously optimistic.

The top 50 countries reported 6.83% growth in the value of new contracts closed in 2014, from $883.96bn in 2013 to $944.31bn.

Three regions, North America, Europe and Asia account for more than 80% of world volume, and together almost matched the previous year’s global total for new business leasing and hire purchase.

Latin America, measured by portfolio value (the only readily available data for most countries in the region) exhibited positive growth in 2014, 18.7% in US dollars.

For the Australia/New Zealand region we have now encompassed chattel mortgage transactions into their results. Comparing performance with the previous year, the region experience growth in new business of 4.0% in the local currency, and remained broadly static when expressed in US dollars.

All eyes are turned to Asia, where China’s burgeoning leasing industry is fueling market growth. In 2014, China reported an increase of 31.06% in new business volume. However, in 2015 that figure is expected to have plateaued amidst the economic slowdown.

The report is a free download from the White Clarke website.