Ashui.com

Mergers and acquisitions are on the rise as investors seek to be more profitable and avoid going bankrupt. 

Ho Chi Minh is currently the hub for such deals. One of the first major deals was in 2011, when Singapore's Dancin Holdings bid for Tan Tao A urban area project, owned by Khang An Investment Real Estate JSC. It later was shored up when the property fund company JSM Indochina announced that they would transfer the land use rights of Peninsula project to Sao Sang Saigon JSC. 

In 2012, the pace of M&A picked up in real estate market, when Capita Value Homes Company acquired 70 per cent stake in a high rise project from Khang Dien Saigon JSC, and also Hoang Anh Gia Lai buying 100 per cent another project in District no. 7 

Many companies have decided to transfer their projects. Hoa Sen Group said it is considering transferring a series of its real estate projects, including Hoa Sen Phuoc Long and Hoa Sen Riverside Apartments, Hoa Sen - Gemadept Airport. A number of industrial zones or resort projects in Hoa Binh Corporation are also set for transfer. 

Also, Dat Xanh Investment Corporation has made successful acquisitions of four property projects, including Majestic and Gold Hill projects in Dong Nai Province, the Bella in Ho Chi Minh City and the Marina in Binh Duong Province. Thien Minh Group also took over the Victoria Hotels property in Vietnam.
One of the biggest players in these deals has been the C.T Group. In March, the group announced its $24 million bid for South Korea's GS firm to develop golf projects in Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City. 

Previously, the acquisitions were often made by foreign companies, trend has been changing. Vietnamese firms have been making a series of large M&A deals.

A representative of the C.T Group said the deals are being made not only in the realty market but in other industries as well, with the busiest areas in Ho Chi Minh City and southern regions.