The Wave of Thai Investors Coming to Vietnam

Many Thai investors have set up business in Vietnam and will not miss the opportunity to participate in auctions to buy shares in state-owned enterprises in the near future.

Recently, billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, the owner of TCC Holdings, through its subsidiary has registered to buy 51% of the charter capital of Saigon Alcohol Beer and Beverage Corporation (Sabeco).

In the past, TCC bought Metro Vietnam (renamed MM Mega Market), successfully acquired Phu Thai Corporation in the North, holds 19% of Vinamilk shares and owning many real estates in Vietnam.

Furthermore, many other corporations and businesses in Thailand are rapidly establishing and expanding their presence in Vietnam through mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

In 2016, Central Group acquired BigC, Singha cooperated strategically with Masan, Siam City Cement owned Holcim. Siam Cement Group (SCG) currently has 23 trading companies in Vietnam with a total asset value of 32,000 billion VND and more than 8,300 employees. Over the years, SCG has been pouring capital into projects and acquiring many leading companies in many fields through M&A. In 2017, SCG bought 100% of Vietnam Construction Materials Company (VCM) and is expected to acquire Binh Minh Plastic.

According to analysts, Thai companies are interested in retail, fast-consuming, urban – resort real estates, clean energy, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications of Vietnam. These sectors are likely to be the areas in which Thai businesses will invest heavily. In particular, Thai investors will not stand out when big companies such as MobiFone, PV Oil, Satra, Becamex IDC… sell shares for the first time to the public.

According to economic experts, Thai investors will continue to pay special attention to the Vietnam market as Vietnam has been following the development path of Thailand in the last several decades, such as rapid economic growth and the middle class is growing. Vietnam has a well-developed domestic market, favorable geographic location and low production cost, which is well suited to the development of industrial production and export of goods to ASEAN.