Vietnam’s retail market attractive to foreign investors

The retail sector has been seen as the brightest aspect of the national economy, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said, noting that in the 11-month period, the total retail sales of consumer goods and services reached over 4 quadrillion VND.

If the growth pace is maintained, the domestic retail market would hit 200 billion USD in the next two years, experts have forecast.

The Vietnamese retail market, therefore, has become a magnet to foreign investors.

Earlier this year, SK Group, one of the largest conglomerates of the Republic of Korea (RoK) with businesses across energy, chemicals, telecommunications, semiconductors, logistics, and services, had invested 410 million USD to buy 16.26 percent of WinCommerce.

In November, the group continued to buy a 4.9 percent stake in the The CrownX for 345 million USD of Masan Group Corporation.

Masan announced in June the completion of a private issuance of a 5.5 percent stake in The CrownX to a consortium led by Alibaba Group and Baring Private Equity Asia for a cash consideration of 400 million USD.

On December 13, Masan signed a deal for 350 million USD primary investment in The CrownX by a consortium of investors comprising TPG, Platinum Orchid – wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and SeaTown Master Fund – managed by an indirect subsidiary of Temasek Holdings.

It marks the final round of funding for the TCX eco-system, which now adds up to over 1.5 billion USD from marquee global investors since it began in the first half of 2020.

It gives TCX a valuation of 8.2 billion USD, equivalent to 105 USD per share and representing a 12 percent increase since the previous round.

After the deal, Masan will own 81.4 percent of The CrownX. It intends to use the proceeds to invest in growth initiatives and do a share buyback.

Dinh Thi My Loan, Chairwoman of the Vietnamese Retailers' Association, said to grow further, domestic retail firms need to catch up with new retail trends and reform their business strategies.

Economist Vu Vinh Phu suggested the enterprises perfect themselves amid the development of digital technology to become more attractive to foreign investors.