Privatisation to sustain Vietnam’s dealmaking flurry

Fast-growing economy: People wait for a bus in front of an advertising billboard of Mobifone in Hanoi. Vietnam’s economy grew 6.68 in 2015, the fastest pace in five years. – Reuters

HANOI: Foreign firms are set to capitalise on Vietnam’s privatisation drive and buy into assets such as Vinamilk and Mobifone to gain exposure to its fast-growing economy this year, boosting M&A deals that already hit a record US$4bil in 2015.

The dealmaking flurry has been encouraged by a turnaround for Vietnam’s US$186bil economy last year, which as recently as 2011 was fighting a 20-plus per cent inflation rate and a banking sector saddled with bad debt.