After the opening session and the Honor Ceremony of the best deals, and best advisory firms in the field of M&A in the period of 2021-2022 in Vietnam, the Forum continued to enter Session 1 with the theme: M&A opportunities in a volatile market. This exchange session had the participation of Lawyer Pham Duy Khuong, Managing Director of ASL LAW and many other lawyers and experts in M&A and finance.
During this session, Mr. Seck Yee Chung, General Counsel of Baker & McKenzie Law Firm in charge of the forum coordinator, raised many tough questions about M&A for the speakers participating in the forum.
Initial questions revolved around macro topics such as the impact of fluctuations of major economies in the world on the M&A field in Vietnam, and the investment path of international investment funds to M&A in Vietnam, or the sign and impact of the slowdown of PEVC funds,...
The speakers at the program successfully answered the coordinator's questions with strong reasoning, combined with experience and factual information to provide answers with evidence, a convincing basis for the invited guests to the forum.
Coming to the question to Mr. Pham Duy Khuong, Managing Director of ASL LAW Firm, Coordinator of Seck Yee Chung said: "The question is about the big picture, global trends and the economy of Asian as well as Vietnam. Korea, Japan and Thailand are active in this field, but there are unpredictable fluctuations. Where do you see the investors coming from, or does the money just keep flowing into Singapore – which has been the transit point for so long?"
Mr. Pham Duy Khuong, Managing Director of ASL LAW Firm, said: "Almost everyone sees a decrease in Vietnam's M&A market in the last 6 months of 2022, difficult to predict in 2023. If looking at how investment flows into Vietnam will be affected, and from which country, it is difficult to determine which is the main source of M&A. According to the nationality of organizations investing in Vietnam, Vietnam is attractive and suitable for investors, with regards to Japan, Korea, and especially Singapore (difficult to classify where the cash flow comes from, very many sources from China to Singapore and then disbursed in many other countries). The US and EU are still not too large of capital flows to Vietnam's M&A market."
After the initial discussion, Mr. Seck Yee Chung summed up the fact that Vietnam is an interesting region and worth taking into account. Despite the difficulty in fighting the pandemic, the management agency has also made efforts to change the regulations, the issues of "digitization", these regulations are reasonable. Enterprises are paying more attention to governance, focusing more on acquisition decisions to ensure the development roadmap of the business.
Mr. Seck Yee Chung said: "Vietnam has to compete with neighboring countries to become an investment destination, moving the supply chain to. In which, (need to focus on) how to attract more software companies, software engineers, etc. Besides, I see that tourism has not exploited its full potential."
Supplement Seck Yee Chung's argument, lawyer Pham Duy Khuong said: "It is difficult to say specifically what is the bright spot of Vietnam in attracting M&A capital, but there are tendencies to be recognized, that is, many Indian companies are still looking for IT personnel from Vietnam. Vietnam has a potential market of 100 million people, which is an attractive point for investors. To attract more foreign capital, it is necessary to have both stricter and more open regulations, which are related to the transfer of profits and capital of investors abroad. Relating to the banking system helps investors more convenient in account management and payment when necessary."
After more than an hour of discussion, the first discussion session in the forum ended. Guests participating in the M&A Forum 2022 and the speakers themselves also gained a lot of knowledge and experience when discussing directly with other reputable experts in the field of M&A in Vietnam and the world, especially about forecasting M&A trends in 2023 and industries and fields that foreign investors are interested in in the coming time.
Session 1 with the topic "M&A opportunities in a volatile market" ended successfully