Invest KOREA

Hosted Korea-Vietnam M&A Webinar...covering a variety of fields such as green, ESG, waste recycling, etc.

KOTRA (President Yu Jeoug-yeol) held a "Korea-Vietnam M&A Webinar" on November 30 to support Korean companies' entry to the Vietnamese market.

As investment activities normalize after the COVID-19 pandemic, KOTRA is set to find excellent M&A investment opportunities and support Korean companies' overseas expansion. This webinar, held for the first time in two years since 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was participated by more than 120 companies, including Korean companies considering overseas M&A and local M&A advisors from Vietnam, confirming high interest in and demand for promising investment opportunities.

M&A transactions from 2022 to the first half of 2023 have slowed down in Vietnam due to the global economic downturn, but expected to recover from the second half of this year driven by ▲ stable political system ▲ solid economic growth ▲ government efforts to create a business-friendly environment.

In particular, it seems to be a good opportunity for Korean companies to participate in the privatization sale of public corporations in acquiring stakes in blue-chip companies. Deputy CEO of the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC), which is in charge of privatization of public corporations in Vietnam, has announced plans to sell shares in 127 blue-chip public corporations over the next five years, including shares in Vietnam Steel, Vinamilk, and Saigon Beer.

The biggest motivation for Korean companies to consider M&A investment opportunities in Vietnam is 'accessibility', as it allows Korean companies; to enter the market rapidly by acquiring shares of local companies with solid local networks, and; to secure production bases through investment in companies with competitive production capacity.

Local advisors who spoke at the webinar said unanimously that it is important for Korean companies to use M&A to quickly enter the Vietnamese market in order to seize opportunities in this fast-growing market.

Lee Hee-sang, Regional Director General of Southeast Asia, said, "It is time to move beyond the green field investment focused on the manufacturing industry to secure supply chains and production bases through M&A. For companies that want to enter the Vietnamese market, which is already the largest market for M&A in Asia, KOTRA will make every effort to support our companies by continuously introducing the latest trends and promising sales in M&A, and establishing network of local advisors."



Source: Invest KOREA (December 4, 2023)