Govt aims to encourage M&A in banking sector
The Vietnam government plans not to license any more wholly foreign-owned banks in Vietnam, instead encouraging foreign banks to buy weak domestic banks, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue said.
At a recent forum on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), Hue said that many foreign banks are also interested in M&A deals with weak domestic banks.
The Vietnamese government was speeding up the resolution and restructuring of the country’s credit institutions, Hue said, adding that for commercial banks, the government encouraged the M&A of small-sized banks into large-sized ones as the number of banks in Vietnam is still quite large and a reduction is inevitable.
Earlier, the government also said that it expected restructuring of the banking sector through more M&A would help Vietnam have several major banks in the Southeast Asian region by 2021.
Besides, Hue said, the government will organise the equitisation and divestment of State-owned banks in the future. Viet Nam News
