Economic recovery, M&A activities will be bustling again

As the economy recovers, foreign investment flows into Vietnam accelerate, combined with the growth of domestic enterprises, M&A activities will become bustling again in the coming time.

On the afternoon of November 27, in Ho Chi Minh City, Dau Tu Newspaper organized the 16th Vietnam Mergers and Acquisitions Forum 2024 (M&A Vietnam Forum 2024) - with the theme "Bustling Deals".

M&A activities contribute to diversifying investment attraction

Speaking at the Forum, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Duc Tam stated that M&A has become an effective capital mobilization channel, contributing to diversifying investment attraction activities for the Vietnamese economy, contributing to promoting the process of economic restructuring, renewing the growth model and equitizing state-owned enterprises.

The Vietnam M&A Forum 2024 with the theme "Bustling Deals" was held when there was only more than 1 month left until the end of 2024 and in preparation for the implementation of the 2025 socio-economic development plan recently approved by the National Assembly.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Tam said that the socio-economic situation in 2024 has basically recovered, and achieved many important results in all fields; it is estimated that 14/15 main targets will be achieved and exceeded in 2024, of which GDP growth is estimated at 6.8 - 7%. This will create an important foundation to enter 2025 with momentum and confidence in the acceleration and breakthrough of the economy.

In the overall achievements of the economy in 2024, attracting foreign investment is a bright spot. In the first 10 months of 2024, Vietnam attracted nearly 27.3 billion USD in foreign investment capital (up 1.9% over the previous year), implementing about 19.6 billion USD (up 8.8%).

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Duc Tam speaks at the M&A Vietnam Forum 2024.

Notably, many large projects in the fields of semiconductors and energy such as battery production, photovoltaic cells, component production, etc. have received new investments or expanded capital. In particular, Vietnam has many advantages to seize the best opportunities in attracting investment in pioneering industrial fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, clean energy, etc. and affirm that it is ready for the development of these industries.

However, through monitoring, the Vietnamese M&A market is showing a slowing trend when in the first 10 months of 2024, there were only 2,669 capital contribution and share purchase transactions by foreign investors, with a total capital contribution value of more than 3.68 billion USD, down 10.4% in number of transactions and down 29% in value compared to the same period.

According to Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Tam, this lull is only a temporary issue due to the general trend of the global market, the world economy has not yet fully recovered from the pandemic and geopolitical fluctuations in the world.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese M&A market is always considered by foreign investors as a safe, attractive, and potential market, a place where they can place their trust in growth potential as well as investment opportunities.

Economic recovery, M&A will be bustling

Referring to the 2025 Socio-Economic Plan, Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Tam said that the National Assembly has just approved the 2025 Socio-Economic Development Plan, the final year of the 2021-2025 term, a year of utmost importance, identified as a breakthrough year to reach the finish line, creating the premise to bring the Vietnamese economy into a new era - the era of national growth.

One of the important goals for 2025 is to achieve GDP growth of 6.5 - 7%, striving to reach 7 - 7.5%. The Government is determined to achieve higher to demonstrate Vietnam's determination in recovering and sustainably developing the economy and society.

The set goal is challenging, in the context of the world and regional situation forecast to continue to be complicated and unpredictable, the global economic outlook, as well as major economies such as the US, China, and Europe are forecast to face many difficulties and risks in terms of growth and macroeconomic stability.

Vietnam's economy is forecast to continue to maintain positive growth momentum, institutional and legal factors that will be improved in 2024 will have a clearer impact on economic growth and development in 2025. However, the difficulties are not small.

To achieve this goal, the National Assembly has proposed 12 groups of tasks and solutions for the 2025 Socio-Economic Development Plan, including drastic institutional removal and overcoming bottlenecks.

“I believe that when the proposed solutions are implemented drastically and effectively, the Vietnamese economy can make a breakthrough and accelerate to reach the finish line in 2025. This will be an important foundation for us to continue to attract foreign investment in general, and investment through M&A in particular,” said Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Tam.

M&A Vietnam Forum 2024.

On the side of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Tam said that he will continue to research and propose to competent authorities to perfect institutions, mechanisms, and policies, especially perfecting the Draft Law on Public Investment (amended); Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Laws on investment, planning, bidding, and PPP, which are expected to be passed by the National Assembly in the near future.

These draft laws have many new provisions, demonstrating a breakthrough in the thinking of law-making from management thinking to management and creation for development, from "pre-inspection" to thorough "post-inspection", implementing decentralization and delegation of power. The draft laws have received high attention, consensus and support from all levels, meeting the expectations of people and businesses to immediately remove obstacles and bottlenecks, creating breakthroughs for development.

In addition, in 2024, the Government is expected to issue a Decree regulating the establishment, management and use of the Investment Support Fund; policies and mechanisms to support the development of ethnic enterprises and large-scale enterprises. Along with breakthrough and outstanding investment support mechanisms, as well as the application of special investment procedures for large-scale projects in the fields of high technology, R&D, semiconductors, AI... foreign investment in Vietnam is also expected to accelerate, with many large-scale projects.

Along with the above bills, combined with the amendment and implementation of other institutions and policies, such as the Land Law, Housing Law, Real Estate Business Law... Vietnam will have great opportunities to develop its socio-economy and attract foreign investment effectively and sustainably.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, there are currently 65 real estate projects with an investment capital of 129,000 billion VND facing legal problems. If these projects are resolved, a huge amount of capital will be injected into the economy. And many projects in localities such as Ho Chi Minh City, when their legal problems are resolved, will attract investors to participate.

“Once the economy recovers, foreign investment flows accelerate into Vietnam, combined with the growth of domestic enterprises, M&A activities will be strongly activated. I believe that in the coming time, M&A activities will soon recover, become bustling again and develop strongly,” said Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Tam.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/kinh-te-phuc-hoi-hoat-dong-ma-se-nhon-nhip-tro-lai-d231072.html