(MPI) - Speaking at the Vietnam M&A Forum 2023, under the theme “Thriving Together” held in Ho Chi Minh city on November 28, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong underlined that the forum was organised in the context of major challenges and difficulties to Vietnam’s economy, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical instability and the global supply chain.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong addresses the event. Photo: MPI

Deputy Minister Dong said that many surveys conducted by reputable international organisations showed that the global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities in 2023 are facing shortage, and one of the main reasons is the US Federal Reserve System (Fed) have continuously increased interest rates, causing the increase in financing cost and the decline in asset prices.

GlobalData’s research showed that the total number of M&A deals as the end of October fell by 16.8% compared to the same period last year, of which the number of those in the Asia-Pacific decreased by 11.6%.

Vietnam is not out of this trend as Vietnam’s M&A market is decreasing compared to its peak in 2021, with the total value deal of over 10.8 billion USD. According to the KPMG’s estimates, the total deal value of the Vietnamese market just reached over 4.4 billion USD, and it is forecasted not to reach the number of 6.8 billion USD last year.

However, Deputy Minister Dong said that Vietnam’s M&A market still sees many opportunities and potentials thanks to its strong fundamentals. The Government has proactively and effectively responded to difficulties and challenges in the new contexts, and focus on perfecting institutions, mechanisms and policies to improve the business and investment environment.

The Government also focused on handling facing bottlenecks and implementing synchronous policies and solutions, especially fiscal and monetary ones, to remove difficulties and support production and business activities.

According to the Big Picture: 2024 M&A Industry Outlook released by the S&P Global in early this month, although global M&A activities have slowed down for most of 2023, there are many promising factors for investors to have breakthrough next year.

He added, Vietnam’s investment market and its M&A market remained attractive to foreign investors thanks to political stability, impressive economic growth and increasing growing of the domestic consumer market.

The deputy minister highlighted the need for domestic businesses to reconsider their strategies, seek new growth models, and focus on restructuring production and business activities towards a more long-term and sustainable direction. Numerous businesses have built systematic strategies and plans to find, and M&A is being their preferred path.

A positive sign is that domestic businesses are also emerging as buyers and ready to take over assets of others to perfect their ecosystems. Deputy Minister Dong stressed, there are more opportunities for stakeholders to find common goals and join hand to achieve prosperity, with the assistance from the economic recovery and support policies that is fiercely implementing by the Government.

The forum is an effective channel providing information about M&A activities through discussions between representatives of state agencies, leaders of pioneering businesses, consultants and leading experts worldwide. It also promote connection, open up new ideas and boost the success of M&A deals at different scales./.

Bao Linh

Ministry of Planning and Investment