The Vietnam M&A market in 2023 is expected to have much prosperity, in contrast to the relatively gloomy and regressive scene of 2022. At the Vietnam M&A Forum in 2022, many prestigious and experienced experts in the field of M&A together discussed the M&A market in the coming time, from 2023 to 2025, 2030.
Speaking at the opening of the Vietnam M&A Forum 2022: Igniting new opportunities, Mr. Le Trong Minh, Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam Investment Review Newspaper, Head of the Forum’s organizing committee asked: “If 2021 witnessed an explosion of M&A deals, by the end of October this year, the total deal value has decreased by more than 35% compared to the same period last year. The above situation together with the not-so-positive forecasts about the global economy in 2023 raises a big question for us: What will the picture of the M&A market in Vietnam in the coming time be? Simply looking at the cash flows will easily lead to a simple and less optimistic answer. But is that really the case?”
Sharing at the Forum, Mr. Tran Quoc Phuong, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, said that the world economy is forecast to slow down in the period of 2023, increasing the possibility of a recession in the short term; High inflation continues to persist in many countries, etc.
The Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment said that the above unpredictable developments will have a direct or indirect impact on the Vietnamese economy. However, in the challenges and difficulties will be the opportunity to transform, and flare up stronger than before. Thereby, Vietnam’s economy is forecasted to be able to recover in 2023, socio-economic activities will shift from a state of adaptation and recovery to faster and more stable development.
Therefore, the Government has reported to the National Assembly and has been approved with the goal of controlling inflation in 2023 at about 4.5%, and economic growth at 6.5%. This is a reasonable growth rate, showing the Government’s determination in continuing socio-economic recovery and development.
According to Mr. Phuong, the belief in the Vietnamese Government’s ability to effectively manage and run the country will be “a great driving force for Vietnam’s economic growth in 2023 and also a driving force for Vietnam’s M&A market to continue to grow.”
“Therefore, the recent slowdown of M&A activities in Vietnam is expected to be short-term and will recover soon. Vietnam in general, and Vietnam’s M&A market in particular, has always been assessed as a safe, attractive, and potential market to ‘igniting new opportunities’.
M&A market 2023: Development, maintenance, decline?
Contrary to the positive predictions about the M&A market in 2023, many speakers at the event also said that it is still too early to judge the development of M&A in 2023 due to the fact that there are too many unpredictable factors.
Mr. Warrick Cleine, President and CEO of KPMG Vietnam and Cambodia, said that the prospect of the M&A market in 2023 is difficult to predict, but if there is any development, a breakthrough to pull up the M&A market in Vietnam will be in banking and finance sector.
Truong An Duong, General Director of the Residential Real Estate Division, Frasers Property Vietnam shared that it will be difficult for Vietnam to determine the development trend of the M&A market in 2023 due to many complex variables in the market. In particular, such as “inflation soars, conflicts, the USD value’s sudden increase, etc. create a rather unstable environment for M&A deals.”

Agreeing with experts that the M&A market in 2022 has a certain decline and is unpredictable in 2023, Lawyer Pham Duy Khuong, Managing Director of ASL LAW Firm, still maintains the perspective that Vietnam is a sustainable, safe market with high prospects, through which, even if there is a decline in 2022, even 2023, Vietnam M&A market will certainly still be an ideal source of deposits and investments for international investors in the visible future, namely from Japan, Korea, Singapore, etc.
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