According to economist Dr. Nguyen Duc Kien, former head of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Group, for the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market to truly become an effective tool for restructuring and resource allocation, Vietnam needs to improve the market’s “soft infrastructure,” from data and professional standards to the legal framework.
Economist Dr. Nguyen Duc Kien, former Head of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Group.
Reporter: How do you assess the overall picture of the current Vietnamese M&A market?
Dr. Nguyen Duc Kien: I believe the Vietnamese M&A market is entering a new phase of development, with significant growth potential and positive changes in its structure.
According to 2025 data, the Vietnamese M&A market recorded approximately 367 transactions with a total value of US$8.7 billion, an increase of about 26% compared to the previous year. This shows that mergers and acquisitions have recovered relatively well after a period of market stagnation and are gradually returning to a growth trajectory.
Notably, Vietnamese investors are no longer on the sidelines. In 2025, domestic investors led both in terms of scale and number of transactions, with approximately US$4.046 billion and 143 deals. These figures reflect the increasing proactiveness of Vietnamese businesses in their restructuring strategies, expansion, and pursuit of growth opportunities through M&A.
Furthermore, Vietnam continues to attract international capital, with investors from Thailand, South Korea, Japan, China, and the United States remaining actively present in the market. For example, Thai investors recorded approximately US$1.298 billion across 29 transactions; South Korea reached nearly US$763 million, while Japan and China maintained relatively stable activity.
Thus, M&A in Vietnam is no longer simply about buying and selling assets or divesting, but is gradually becoming a strategic tool to help businesses restructure, expand market share, access technology, and improve management capabilities. However, for the market to develop more sustainably, we still need a more professional, transparent, and standardized operating ecosystem.
Reporter: In your opinion, what is the biggest bottleneck hindering the rapid and sustainable development of Vietnam’s M&A market?
Dr. Nguyen Duc Kien: The biggest bottleneck currently lies not in a lack of demand, but in the lack of a synchronized operating ecosystem. We still lack sufficiently reliable market data, professional standards, a team of specialized consultants, and especially, an effective coordination mechanism between businesses, investors, and regulatory agencies.
In other words, Vietnam has a market, but lacks the complete “soft infrastructure” for the M&A market to develop more rapidly and sustainably. If these gaps are addressed, M&A could absolutely become an important channel for restructuring and allocating resources in the Vietnamese economy in the next decade.
Reporter: To guide, connect, and standardize operations, what does the Vietnamese M&A market need, sir?Dr. Nguyen Duc Kien: The Vietnamese M&A market is entering a new phase of development, but it still lacks interconnectedness and standardization. For many years, numerous businesses have viewed M&A as a situational activity, only appearing when a company faces difficulties or needs to divest. Meanwhile, in many developed economies, M&A is a normal growth tool for businesses to expand their scale, access technology, markets, management resources, and enhance competitiveness.
Therefore, the Vietnamese M&A market needs an organization to provide guidance and gradually form an ecosystem to support the market’s more systematic operation, from connecting businesses and improving the quality of consulting to promoting the development of databases and professional standards for M&A activities.
More importantly, the market needs an organization capable of contributing to building a more transparent “rule of the game,” increasing trust among participants, and helping Vietnamese businesses view M&A as a management and strategic development tool, rather than simply a short-term capital transaction.
Understanding this need, on May 8, 2026, the first founding congress of the Vietnam Mergers and Acquisitions Association (VMAA), for the term 2026-2031, will take place, with the core message being: Compliance with the law – Transparency – Efficiency. The Association’s greatest expectation is to work with state management agencies to build a complete, synchronized, and robust legal framework for mergers and acquisitions.
Through this, M&A activities in Vietnam will gradually transform from a relatively new field into a more transparent, common, and frequent activity in the economy. This contributes to promoting corporate restructuring, attracting investment, and improving the efficiency of resource allocation.
In the long term, I expect M&A to become an important tool for business development, supporting Vietnamese businesses in expanding their scale, innovating management, accessing technology, and enhancing their competitiveness in the context of increasingly deep international economic integration.
Reporter: Thank you for your insights!
