Transactions involving foreign investors make up a hefty 66% of the total merger and acquisition (M&A) value last year, which hit a new record high of US$4.7 billion with more than 400 deals. The significant deals are IFC buying a 10% stake in Vietinbank, Mizuho acquiring a strategic stake in Vietcombank and Carlsberg taking over Huda Hue. The total M&A value in 2011 surged an impressive 135%... 

HCMC – Shareholders of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, or Sacombank, during the general meeting last Saturday approved the resignations by five board members in a major leadership shakeup. Two former Sacombank board members, Dang Van Thanh and Dang Hong Anh, still sit on the new board. Eight new members were elected, with four coming from Southern Commercial Bank, one from ACB Securities Company,... 

The total value of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in Vietnam reached US$1.5 billion in the first quarter of this year, a conference in Ha Noi heard on Thursday. Nguyen Anh Tuan, head of the M&A Vietnam Forum 2012 organising board, said the country now ranked 8th among nations which witnessed the busiest M&A activities in the Asia-Pacific region, adding that the total M&A transaction... 

Analysts say Japanese investors are targeting consumer goods manufacturers, retailers and finance groups with reasonable values. The number of M&A deals is expected to be double this year. The 2011 white book about M&A of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), an international auditing firm said that Japanese investors, who are now under the pressure of the population and domestic demand decreases,... 

Commercial banks have developed by leaps and bounds, contributing significantly to the economy with their diverse, comprehensive services. Unfortunately, the banking sector is also haunted by numerous problems, which arise from an outdated governance recipe. Vietnam’s banking system has been milked for all it is worth for a long time and needs to be drastically revamped. This task is crucial for... 

Since its slide into difficulties four years ago, the local property market has remained challenging for developers as secondary investors have left the market while homebuyers are holding a wait-and-see attitude. The Saigon Times Daily talked to Brett Ashton, managing director of Savills Vietnam, as the company released its fourth quarter report on the property market on Wednesday. Excerpts: The Saigon... 

Despite the current global economic uncertainty and local macroeconomic concerns, the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) industry continues to grow and develop. KPMG Vietnam’s director of Corporate Finance Advisory Services Carl Gordon reviews the recent trends in Vietnam’s M&A industry, takes a look at 2011’s M&A activity and considers where we see the market heading in the coming year. The... 

Industry insiders are digging into banking sector restructuring. Addressing the 13th National Assembly’s ongoing second section, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung asserted re-arranging commercial banks, credit and financial institutions in the direction of expanding their scope in a rational manner and trimming feeble banking and credit entities was one of core tasks in 2012 and the following years. The... 

The merger and acquisition (M&A) has been increasing in scale with the total turnover in the first nine months of the year reaching 2.67 billion dollars, far exceeding the 1.75 billion level obtained in 2010. Meanwhile, the market scale is expected to be double by the end of the year. The current factors are backing up the M&A market , while a lot of business fields have become the aiming... 

While observers predict a rising wave of merging and acquisition (M&A) in many industry and service sectors, they believe that there would not be many M&A affairs in the banking sector, because of the lack of the laws. The observers say there are many favorable conditions of M&A deals to be made now. The non-performing loan ratio has been increasing from 2.17 percent in late 2010 to 2.72...