INVESTMENT

The Hanoitimes - Vietnam’s merger and acquisition (M&A) has been attractive to foreign investors in recent years, but there remain obstacles hindering the M&A market to further grow, experts said. After exceeding the US$10-billion landmark for the first time last year, Vietnam’s M&A market continued to rise 55 percent year-on-year to reach US$3.55 billion in the first six months this year. However, experts suggested that M&A should be further promoted as its value is forecast to be lower than last year at US$6.5-6.9 billion in 2018.   A typical M&A deal in Vietnam often lasts for a whole year or even 2-3 years Experts said that investors often decide to pursue M&A rather than develop its own land reserves for new project construction to save time in completing legal procedures and dealing with issues related to site clearance and compensation. However, Nguyen Khanh, director of real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL)’s … [Read more...] about Fine-tuning bottlenecks to lure more M&A in Vietnam’s real estate

Retail and real estate industries have become top attractions for Japanese investors Japanese to expand business Japan, the first G7 member to recognize Vietnam’s market economy (in 2011), currently ranks second among 126 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 3,725 projects totaling US$50.5 billion in registered capital. Vietnam has become the second choice in the region for Japanese investors, after China. In 2017, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced that Vietnam overtook Malaysia to become the most lucrative foreign market for Japanese companies. BOJ data showed that Japanese FDI in Vietnam yielded total revenues of JPY198.1 billion or US$1.74 billion in 2016, up 70 percent from JPY116.2 billion in 2014. These impressive figures encourage investors from Japan and other countries to invest further Vietnam, and explain why more than 70 percent of Japanese companies have plans to expand their business in Vietnam in the near future. Vietnam’s economy is … [Read more...] about Japan tops foreign investors in first half

The Hanoitimes - After successful initial public offerings (IPO), many state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have still failed to sell stakes to strategic shareholders, mainly due to regulations on foreign ownership cap and time of shareholding. Statistics from the Steering Committee for Enterprise Innovation showed that the government approved privatization plans of 19 SOEs with the total value of VND41 trillion (US$1.74 billion) in the first half of this year. After the nod, 16 SOEs conducted initial public offerings (IPOs), earning more than VND22 trillion (nearly (US$1 billion). However, many of them failed to sell shares to strategic shareholders according to approved plans. According to the legal regulations, the share sales must be made within four months of the IPO. PV Oil was the latest case to fail in finding strategic investors after successful IPO Vietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil) was the latest case in the strategic sale failure. With the government’s recent refusal … [Read more...] about Finding strategic shareholders after IPO challenges businesses

The Hanoitimes - The project is expected to have an investment of US$500 million, according to the head of Saigon Hi-tech Park (SHTP). SHTP is in the process of convincing a Silicon Valley-based company specializing in making batteries for Tesla's electric vehicles to invest in Ho Chi Minh City, VnExpress reported.    Illustrative photo. Source: Getty Images. "We have had several meetings with this company. They are considering various options, including our land rent fee and incentives. At present, Ho Chi Minh City and another location in the Philippines are their two shortlisted options," said Le Hoai Quoc, director of SHTP's management board.  If the company in subject chooses SHTP as its investment destination, the hi-tech park could approve license for investment right in this year, Quoc said, adding the investment project is expected to have capital of US$500 million.  "Battery for Tesla's car is a complicated product which very few can produce. The … [Read more...] about Tesla battery maker eyes investment in HCM City

Vietnam is emerging as one of the world’s hottest markets for private equity investments thanks to its high rate of return, driven by the country’s rapidly growing economy and the government’s fine-tuned policies. Mobile World Group is Mekong Capital’s most successful private equity investment Mekong Capital has recently announced that its Mekong Enterprise Fund II (MEF II) has successfully divested 100 percent of its final remaining investment in Vietnam, resulting in the fund achieving a net return multiple of 4.5 times and net internal rate of return (IRR) of 22.5 percent for its investors. This marked it as one of the most successful funds in the Asian private equity scene. In the latest investment from Vietnam’s Asia Chemical Corporation (ACC) alone, MEF II gained US$8.9 million, generating a gross return multiple of 2.6 times and a gross IRR of 15.1 percent. Earlier, MEF II also completed the sale of its last remaining five million shares in … [Read more...] about High return draws private equity investments to Vietnam