The second forum on merger and acquisition (M&A) was held in Ho Chi Minh City on May 25 in an effort to boost these kinds of transactions in the country.
Addressing the forum, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh stressed that the event is a good chance for competent agencies to hear experts’ and entrepreneurs’ opinions in order to help them complete mechanisms and policies to facilitate M&A in the country.
In addition, the forum is a venue for businesses to share experiences in seeking strategic partners in M&A and make predictions on the market trends in the coming time, he said.
The forum entitled “Looking towards successful M&As” was jointly held by the Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper, the Avalue Vietnam Consultancy Company and the Ministry of Planning and Investment. It drew the participation of 300 representatives from ministries, branches and securities exchanges as well as domestic and foreign experts and businesspeople in the city.
According to Nguyen Anh Tuan, the Dau Tu’s Editor in Chief, M&A have boomed in the country since 2006. Nearly 300 M&As worth some 1.1 billion USD were carried out last year.
In the first quarter of this year, the market was more ebullient with larger acquisitions: The Vietnam Industrial and Commercial Bank (Vietinbank) sold 10 percent and 15 percent of its statutory capital to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Canada’s Nova Scotia Bank, and VNPT Global sold 10 percent of its shares to the Singapore Technologies Telemedia (ST Telemedia).
Notably, the Hung Vuong Fishery Joint Stock Company (HVG) offered to buy 3.75 million shares of the An Giang Fishery Import-Export Joint Stock Company (AGF) in a bid to raise its share in AGF to 51 percent. This is the first time a firm listed on the country’s stock market has asked to buy shares of another listed firm publicly.
Vietnamese businesses should boost M&A transactions both in the country and overseas to strengthen their positions in the region and the world, especially in potential industries, said Dr. Christopher Kummer, a leading expert in M&A.
According to him, merger is a good way to develop, particularly when businesses do not afford an acquisition.