Vietnam's M&A market reached 2.3 billion USD in 10 months

On the afternoon of December 9, the 17th Vietnam Mergers and Acquisitions Forum 2025 (M&A Vietnam Forum 2025) took place in Ho Chi Minh City, organized by the Finance - Investment Newspaper under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance, attracting more than 500 delegates including leaders of management agencies, economic experts, investors, investment funds and the domestic and foreign business community.

This year's event, themed "New Position - New Opportunities", took place in the context of the Vietnamese M&A market maintaining stability, in contrast to the somber tone of the Southeast Asian region for most of 2025.

View of the 17th Vietnam Mergers and Acquisitions Forum 2025 (M&A Vietnam Forum 2025).

According to KPMG data, in the first 10 months of 2025, Vietnam recorded 218 M&A deals with a total value of 2.3 billion USD, reflecting the trend of investors conducting more careful appraisals and more cautious valuations, especially in industries with pressured profit margins or slow growth demand.

Opening the event, Mr. Pham Van Hoanh, Editor-in-Chief of the Finance - Investment Newspaper, Head of the Forum Organizing Committee, emphasized the strong transformation of Vietnam's economy in 2025. Mr. Hoanh said that the foundation of GDP growth has achieved many breakthroughs, political stability and the process of institutional improvement, from Resolution 66 on law reform to the roadmap for upgrading the stock market, has contributed to improving Vietnam's position on the international investment map.

“The new position opens up new opportunities. The upcoming M&A wave is not just a transfer of ownership but will be the driving force for corporate restructuring, improving governance, improving productivity and promoting Vietnam’s economic growth in the next decade,” said Mr. Hoanh.

Mr. Pham Van Hoanh, Editor-in-Chief of Finance - Investment Newspaper delivered the opening speech of the forum.

Notably, the large-scale deal group contributed nearly 1 billion USD in transaction value, mostly from international investors, showing the attraction of high-quality assets and stable operations. After the peak in 2024, the average transaction size returned to 29.4 million USD, bringing the market back to a balanced, more vibrant state in the mid-range segment.

Domestic capital flows continued to be an important driving force, accounting for more than 30% of total transaction value, while foreign capital flows maintained a strong presence, especially from Singapore, Japan, the US and South Korea - the groups leading many of the year's largest deals.

This year's notable deals mainly focus on real estate, materials, finance and healthcare . Several large deals worth 1 - 1.5 billion USD are in the final stages of completion, expected to create a new boost for the 2026 - 2027 period.

Notably, the sharp increase in capital contributions and share purchases from foreign investors shows that M&A is becoming an increasingly attractive capital channel. According to the Ministry of Finance, in the first 11 months of 2025, the total registered foreign investment capital reached 33.69 billion USD, up 7.4%; of which capital contributions and share purchases reached over 6.117 billion USD, up 50.7% over the same period.

Entering 2026, the Organizing Committee assessed that the M&A prospects in Vietnam will be more positive thanks to a series of important driving forces such as improvements to the Land Law and investment procedures; a more transparent bond market; a direct power sale mechanism (DPPA) expanding space for renewable energy; a strong investment trend in hospitals, diagnostics and medical technology; and a wave of supply chain shifts continuing to attract capital flows into materials, industry and export manufacturing. Although short-term consumption growth is slow, medium-term demand in the fields of healthcare, retail, logistics, technology and essential services will still increase thanks to a stable macroeconomic foundation.

Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong gave a speech at the forum.

Speaking at the Forum, Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong emphasized that Vietnam in general, and the Vietnamese M&A market in particular, has always been considered by foreign investors as a safe, attractive, and potential market. Both domestic and foreign investors still have great confidence in the growth potential of the Vietnamese economy, as well as the potential and opportunities of Vietnam as an investment destination.

“I always believe that Vietnam will maintain its top position in the region in attracting foreign investment, especially in high-tech and pioneering fields such as semiconductors and AI... In which, M&A continues to be an important capital channel. Foreign investors from the US, Europe and traditional Vietnamese investors from Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand... are still very interested in investing in Vietnam through this form,” Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong affirmed.

The Deputy Minister also cited high-tech sectors, especially AI and semiconductors, which are attracting global corporations. NVIDIA and Qualcomm have made deals to buy shares in Vietnamese enterprises to expand R&D activities in the AI ​​field.

Within the framework of the forum, there were 2 discussion sessions. In the first discussion session, Mr. Michael Dwyer, Head of KPMG Vietnam's M&A Advisory Department, presented a report on the overview of the Vietnamese M&A market, pointing out major trends such as the shift of global capital flows, M&A strategies of multinational corporations and new driving forces from institutional reform.

At this session, speakers focused on analyzing factors contributing to raising Vietnam's position, including the impact of geopolitics in 2025 and supply chain competition; advantages from participating in "mega trends" such as AI, semiconductors, clean energy; improved legal environment with global minimum tax, new Land Law, investment procedure reform; dynamism of the private sector and capital markets.

Many experts believe that Vietnam has all the conditions to become the "M&A hub of ASEAN" in the coming years if it continues to promote reforms and increase transparency of corporate data.

In the second discussion session with the theme “New opportunities: Corporate restructuring and the M&A wave 2026 - 2030”, experts focused on discussing “new opportunities” for the market in the period 2025 - 2030. The industries expected to lead the new M&A cycle include finance - banking, renewable energy, infrastructure, technology, and consumption.

One of the main focuses mentioned is “rescue” M&A, when many businesses under pressure of debt and cash flow are likely to become restructuring objects, creating opportunities for strategic investors. This trend is especially evident in real estate, finance, energy and infrastructure.

In addition, the forum also mentioned the connection between IPO and M&A as a strategy to optimize capital and optimize business valuation. Transaction models such as SPV, earn-out, options, etc. are considered to be increasingly popular in Vietnam.

At the event, the Organizing Committee honored typical M&A deals and excellent consulting organizations in 2024 - 2025, along with an exhibition and investment connection, contributing to expanding the cooperation network and finding strategic partners for participating businesses.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/thi-truong-ma-viet-nam-dat-23-ty-usd-trong-10-thang-20251209141925693.htm