M&A in Vietnam for Thai Investors (Part 1 of 2)

M&A is an important channel to attract foreign investment in Vietnam. It is reported, that, despite the global economic recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the value of M&A transactions in Vietnam in 2020 has reached USD 3.5 billion. Amongst foreign investments, deals from Thai investors are a recent rising phenomenon in Vietnam with several highlighted transactions, namely:
– Central Group acquired 100% of the ownership in Big C Vietnam from Casino Group (France)
– Siam Cement Group acquired packaging and construction materials companies in Vietnam (Prime Group, Duy Tan Plastics, Binh Minh Plasco, Kraft Vina etc.)
– TCC group acquired Metro (currently named MM Mega Market) from Metro Group (Germany)
– ThaiBev acquired 53.39% of SABECO to help them indirectly control one-third of the Vietnam beer market
– Super Energy acquired shares in four solar energy projects (Loc Ninh 1, Loc Ninh 2, Loc Ninh 3, and Loc Ninh 4)

A Thai investor once shared that M&A is the most effective and least time-consuming way to access the Vietnamese market, rather than building companies from scratch.

In this article series, we would like to discuss M&A transactions in Vietnam from both legal and practical perspectives. The series will particularly convey the following topics:

Topic I: Legal theory regarding shares/capital contribution subscription and acquisition in each type of company in Vietnam;
Topic II: Conditional sectors and caps foreign investment in Vietnam;
Topic III: M&A procedures;
Topic IV: Practical issues in M&A activities in Vietnam; and
Topic V: M&A in some specific sectors.

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