Vietnam set to lead strong M&A activity

Singapore

THE Asean growth story has revolutionised the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) landscape, with Asian powerhouses dominating more Western companies and whetting appetites for deal-making.

As Asean economies continue to expand, observers are placing their bets on Vietnam in the coming year, which seems set in the forefront for strong M&A activity.

Srividya Gopalakrishnan, managing director of Duff & Phelps, told The Business Times recently that she is seeing more activity in Vietnam and Myanmar, adding that the former is "very promising" as it starts to attract the attention of more foreign investors.

In December, mainboard-listed Thai Beverage, through its associated company Vietnam Beverage, announced that it had a winning bid for a 53.6 per cent stake in Sabeco, the largest state-owned brewer in Vietnam, for about 109.97 trillion Vietnamese dong (S$6.5 billion). The move could spark a…