By Tran Thu - The Saigon Times Daily

HCMC – An annual mergers and acquisitions (M&A) forum will kick off next month in HCMC to review M&A activities in Vietnam last year as well as forecast the trend in the coming years.

The Vietnam M&A 2011 forum slated for June 9 in the city is to be held by Vietnam Investment Review and AVM Vietnam Company under the cooperation with the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The forum will also provide businesses with experience, knowledge, and information about M&A activity, as well as opportunities for business connections, say the organizers.

In addition, local and foreign experts as well as businesses will hold discussions and make recommendations for relevant authorities to improve policies and legal framework to improve the environment for M&A activity, Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc says in a statement on a website for the forum.

According to the organizers, last year saw more M&A deals were made with total transaction value of nearly US$1.42 billion, up 30% compared with 2009.

This year, the activity is expected to remain strong. According to the result of a recent survey conducted by the consulting company Grant Thornton, 17% of Vietnamese privately held enterprises plan to grow through acquisitions in the next three years, compared with 19% in 2010 and 15% in 2009.

In addition, 20% of Vietnamese businesses believe there will be a change of ownership in their business in the next three years, almost double the global average of 11%, the survey indicates.

In fact, a number of M&A deals have been made in Vietnam since early this year, such as Saigon Paper Corp. selling a 38% stake to Japanese partners in late April. In mid-April, Masan Group raised US$159 million from the 10% stake sale of Masan Consumer to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., a global investment firm.