Newsletter
Vietnam M&A Spotlight - April 2022
Freshfields' Vietnam M&A Spotlight keeps you up-to-date with the key business and legal developments in this sector. Please contact us if you would also like to receive our Vietnam Infrastructure Spotlight, Vietnam Environment Spotlight or Vietnam Competition Law Spotlight.
PUBLICATION
Healthcare in good shape
We are pleased to share the article in Vietnam Investment Review written by Eric Johnson, Counsel of our Hanoi office. Eric provides his analysis into healthcare M&A deals in 2021 and looks at prospects for healthcare deals in Vietnam by foreign investors going forward. Source: Vietnam Investment Review
MARKET UPDATES
Healthcare
- Stroke. Excelsior Capital Vietnam Partners, the Vietnam-focused investment fund of Hong Kong-based private equity firm Excelsior Capital Asia, has led an investment in SIS Group, which owns and operates the Can Tho Stroke and Neuro Vascular International Hospital. Established in 2019, SIS is looking to expand its specialty services to treatment areas such as rehabilitation and other age-related diseases. SIS is the second private equity deal in the healthcare sector in Vietnam this year. Source: Deal Street Asia
- Cox. Vietnamese medical device manufacturer USM Healthcare has secured a US$30 million investment from South Korea-based private equity firm EastBridge Partners. While Vietnam still largely depends on expensive imports for its medical equipment needs, USM Healthcare, a coronary stent developer and manufacturer in Vietnam, wants to expand the production capacity and strengthen research and development capabilities in Vietnam. Source: Nhip Cau Dau Tu
Banking
- Cheque is in the mail. Many State-owned enterprises have announced their auction schedule for capital divestment plans, but not all divestments are attracting customers. Among the 122 million shares of LienVietPostBank brought to auction by the Vietnam Post on HNX recently, only 800 shares were registered for purchase by a few individual investors. Source: Vietnam Plus
- Banking booming. A number of Vietnamese banks plan to sell more shares to foreign investors in 2022 as part of set strategies. Orient Commercial Bank was reported to be negotiating with foreign partners to sell 10 per cent of its charter capital. If the deal is successful, the bank will lift its foreign ownership limit (FOL) to a maximum of 30 per cent. Also, the Vietnam Securities Depository modified the FOL ratio of privately-held lender SHB from 10 per cent to a maximum of 30 per cent, effective from 4 March 2022. Source: Vietnam Plus and Vietnam Investment Review
- No-cost banking. Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB) is rumoured to be a potential acquirer of OceanBank, one of three struggling institutions that, together with GPBank and Construction Bank, are subject to special supervision by the central bank. The expected acquisition is said to be at no cost to MB. Following the government-approved roadmap, MB will engage with OceanBank to examine its data system and provide a proposal for consideration. Source: Vietnam Investment Review
- Grab in the running. Southeast Asian super app Grab, along with a group of banks from Japan including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, are among suitors shortlisted in the bidding of consumer lender Home Credit’s assets in Southeast Asia and India. Home Credit is seeking a valuation of US$2 billion to $2.5 billion for the businesses in Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and India. Source: Bloomberg
Automobile
- Fast-moving. Vinfast, the automobile unit of conglomerate Vingroup, has filed confidentially for an initial public offering in the U.S. as the Vietnamese electric vehicle maker starts building a factory in North Carolina. The share sale could raise about US$2 billion and VinFast’s IPO would be the biggest ever by a Vietnamese company after Vinhomes JSC’s US$1.4 billion first-time share sale in 2018. If successful, the carmaker would also become one of the few Vietnamese companies to list in the U.S. Source: Bloomberg
Technology
- Scattering crumbs on the water. Shinhan Bank is rumoured to be the next financial backer of Tiki, Vietnam’s major e-commerce player, with a predicted fund of around US$40 million. Shinhan Bank, along with its commercial banking activities, is keen on supporting Vietnam’s burgeoning startup ecosystem. With its extensive expertise, Shinhan Bank has bet on a number of startups such as Money Lover, Interloan, Homebase, Med247, and Abivin, through its subsidiary Shinhan Future Lab, founded in 2016. Source: Vietnam Investment Review
- Scattering payment features. Gojek is bulking up its Vietnam arsenal to battle dominant ride-hailing Grab by partnering with MoMo, a local e-wallet unicorn whose users outnumber the country's entire market for ride-hailing. The addition of the e-wallet is part of Gojek’s strategy to offer users more payment options on its app following the launch of its card payment feature last year. Source: Nikkei Asia
Consumer
- Price inflation. Mobile World plans to sell a 20 per cent stake in its grocery chain Bach Hoa Xanh in this or next year to expand its operation nationwide. The electronics reseller, which owns a 99.95 per cent stake, is looking for investors which pay the highest price, it stated in a letter to shareholders. The grocery chain has 2,147 outlets nationwide, most of which are currently located in southern Vietnam. Source: Vn Express International
- Longer is better. Conglomerate Masan has spent an additional US$110 million to increase its ownership in the tea and coffee chain Phuc Long from 20 per cent to 51 per cent. Masan first bought a 20 percent stake in Phuc Long in May last year for US$15 million, and the latest purchase puts the valuation of the tea and coffee chain at US$355 million. Source: Vn Express International
- Eating well. Local restaurant chain owner, Golden Gate Joint Stock Company has announced the transfer of 35.95 per cent of its shares to three new stakeholders from Singapore. The new investors spent about US$234 million to buy the shares. Source: Vietnam News
Power
- Power cut. PV Power, the second largest electricity supplier of Vietnam, has just announced approval for the plan to transfer more than 2.8 million shares in EVN International JSC, which is equivalent to 7.85 per cent of the capital. EVN International operates in the field of electricity generation and distribution. Source: Bizhub
Real Estate
- Positive thinking. The M&A outlook for 2022 is bright as Vietnam is an increasingly attractive destination for international businesses, as borders reopened on 15 March and travellers from 13 countries are now allowed to enter the country without a visa, M&A deals are likely to increase along with other real estate investments. Source: Vietnam Plus
- First partnership. LOGOS Vietnam Logistics Venture and Manulife Investment Management announced a joint venture to acquire an 11-hectare, build-to-suit logistics asset in the greater Ho Chi Minh City area. This is LOGOS’ first partnership with Manulife and it represents the fourth recent acquisition for LOGOS, which was established in August 2020 with a global institutional investor for the development of facilities across Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Danang. Source: Vietnam Investment Review
