HCMC – Despite the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the total value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Vietnam reached US$8.8 billion from January to October 2021, increasing 18% compared with the same period last year.
Addressing the Vietnam M&A Forum 2021 on December 9, experts said the pandemic had given a boost to the M&A market in Vietnam and around the world this year.
In Vietnam, consumer goods, real estate, finance and renewable energy are the industries that have seen the largest number of M&A deals.
According to KPMG Vietnam, there were over 500 M&A deals from January to October, with investors mainly coming from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore.
Some of the biggest deals included Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui pouring US$1.3 billion into FE Credit, Singapore’s SK South East Asia Investment investing US$410 million in Vincommerce and the U.K.’s Barings and China’s Alibaba pouring US$400 million into CrownX.
Japanese investors are mainly interested in finance, healthcare, wholesale, retail and information technology, while investors from South Korea have invested the most money in e-commerce and logistics.
Besides, US$1.6 billion of the total M&A value was made by domestic investors. Of the figure, US$1.13 billion came from 11 deals made by five leading corporations of the country, including Vingroup, Masan, NovaLand, Hoa Phat and Vinamilk.
Warrick Cleine, chairman and CEO of KPMG in Vietnam and Cambodia, said M&A had enjoyed steady and strong growth in Vietnam. They have become an important option for many businesses and a way to attract more talent.
Thanks to Vietnam’s large population and rising middle class, experts expected that M&A would continue to grow strongly in the country next year and expand to more sectors such as hospitality, fintech, financial services and logistics.
