Vietnam a good market for M&A

“Vietnam is still an attractive market for M&As,” John Ditty, chairman of KPMG Vietnam & Cambodia, said.

According to him, Vietnam is currently considered as a more attractive investment destination than most regional emerging markets against which it competes for capital inflows. Access to a market characterised by a population of almost 90 million and rising disposable incomes and urbanisation levels, along with access to new growth sectors and in-country expansion were the primary reasons cited for contemplating M&A in Vietnam in the future.

Remarking M&A deals between Vietnamese and Japanese companies, Masataka Yoshida, investment director of RECOF Company, said the market started to grow in 2004, with 80 inbound deals to Vietnam between 2004 and 2013.

He said the sectors of target companies were diversified within the service sector or light industry rather than heavy industry. The top five sectors are IT/software, manufacturing, trade/distribution, food, banking and insurance.

Yoshida named some attractive factors from Vietnam. They include the long-term historical friendship between the two nations, Vietnam’s stable political environment, the country’s steady and sizeable economic growth, access to the Greater Mekong Sub-region, big population and young average age, similarities in Japanese and Vietnamese cultures.

He said the factors included booming of the Vietnamese consumption propelled by the middle-income class people, and high demand from growing population with rising income.

After five years of strong growth, the value of M&A in Vietnam reached $ 5billion in 2012. The total value of M&A deals here between 2009 and now is estimated at $14.8 billion, an average growth rate of 65 per cent in the period 2009-2012, said Dr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, editor-in-chief of VIR, a co-organiser of the forum.

The forum had an overview of Vietnam’s M&A market during 2009-2013 and the outlook for the new period. It also discussed M&As and restructuring in the banking sector, strategies for the development of enterprises through the deals, as well as opportunities in the property sector.

An M&A deal award ceremony is also part of the fourm, where the participants included leaders of Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment, State Bank, other ministries, and the International Monetary Fund.

The forum expo, which serves networking, features businesses in real estate, infrastructure development, fund management firms and other fields.

This year’s forum received support from Vietnam’s Eximbank - the main partner of the forum, HDBank -- Diamond Sponsor, VinaCapital -- Gold Sponsor, and corporate donors such as Japanese company Recof, KPMG Vietnam, Reed Tradex, OCB Bank, Bao Viet Holdings, Bao Viet Securities, Sapporo, LienViet Post Bank, Benthanh Group, Viet Capital Securities Company, Allens, CBRE, National Housing Corporation of Vietnam, Oil and Gas Securities Company, Sunhouse, Majestic Hotel, VietJetAir, and Dcar.