HCM City (VNA) – Theequitisation of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and divestment of State capitalhave created more products for the M&A market, heard the Vietnam M&A Forumin HCM City on August 6.

Experts said that means thereare more opportunities for foreign investors to acquire stakes in SOEs.

Deputy Minister of Planning andInvestment Vu Dai Thang said the value of M&A transactions over the past decadehas come to about 55 billion USD, adding that free trade agreements such as theComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will also help expanding themarket, stimulate the investment flows and increase M&A activities.

The Vietnamese M&A market is estimated tobe worth nearly 7.6 billion USD in 2019, led by foreign investors fromSingapore, Thailand, the Republic of Korea and Japan, experts said.

However, participants at theforum also urged more improvements in the legal framework and law enforcementrelated to M&A, and the removal of the ownership cap for investors.

M&A activities in 2019 andbeyond are forecast to continue focusing on consumer goods, retails and realestate. Besides, more transactions on a larger scale are expected in the fieldsof telecommunications, energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, and education.  

Nguyen Anh Duc, standing deputydirector general of the Saigon Co.op retailer giant, said the retail sectorattracts investors thanks to the potential local market as Vietnam has a largeand young population.

Meanwhile, a stable macro-economicgrowth, many bilateral and multilateral cooperation agreements, and highpopulation growth and urbanization rates are factors that make Vietnam anattractive destination for real estate developers.  

In particular, big M&Atransactions are expected in infrastructure and energy, as Vietnam has thepolicy of mobilizing capital from the private sector for infrastructuredevelopment.

Investors are also watching foropportunities in the telecom sector, considering the Government’s plan to restructureVNPT and equitise MobiFone.

At the same time, severallarge-scale pharmaceutical companies such as Duoc Hau Giang (DHG), Domesco andTraphaco are in the target range of foreign investors.-VNA