Health and education are bright spots
The health sector is attracting special attention from investors thanks to the increasing demand for quality health care services. Report " PwC's Global M&A Trends: Perspectives for 2025", private hospitals and specialized medical facilities such as ophthalmology and cancer will be the focus of M&A deals in 2025.
Pharmaceutical and life science companies are focusing on biotechnology to optimize their investment portfolio and enhance competitiveness. This trend promotes a strong wave of M&A, especially in divestment deals and business consolidations.
Education is also a field with great attraction thanks to its policy of opening up foreign investment. Not limiting foreign capital to educational institutions helps M&A deals in the industry to take place vibrantly.
According to PwC, about 50-70% of global education portfolio comes from private investment funds. Education technology (EdTech), especially in the field of digitalization of general and university education, is attracting large capital flows.
Technology continues to be an attractive field with large deals in artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data and cybersecurity. In the next 5 years, investment in digital infrastructure could reach 2,000 billion USD, focusing on data centers and AI-enabled systems.
Finance - banking also recorded many large value deals when organizations promoted the digitalization of services and expanded market share. The renewable energy sector is attracting attention as many businesses increase investment to anticipate the trend of converting to clean energy.
Mr. Pham Minh Tuan - Vice Chairman of BCG Group - said that foreign investors when they first come to Vietnam are often hesitant because they do not fully understand businesses and local culture.
BCG is expecting the Government to have policies to encourage investors in implementing renewable energy projects, in order to enhance the position of businesses to attract foreign investors. Therefore, BCG is very interested in attracting foreign capital in implementing projects in this field" - Mr. Pham Minh Tuan shared.
Challenges and opportunities for the 2025 M&A market
Despite the positive outlook, the M&A market still faces many challenges. According to PwC experts, geopolitical factors, especially the "Trump effect" and policy changes in the US, can affect international capital flows. Adjustments to tariffs, immigration and the removal of regulations could change the investment strategies of global corporations.
Long-term interest rates are tending to increase again after the cut at the end of 2024, creating uncertainty in business valuation and capital mobilization capacity.
Mr. Ong Vietnam Hooi, Head of Commercial Consulting Services, PwC Vietnam, commented: Entering 2025, global M&A activities are on a strong recovery path, driven by improvement signals from the economy and strategic sales deals. This trend is also reflected in Vietnam, where we have witnessed an increase in trading activities in many different fields. Domestic enterprises are playing a proactive role, taking the lead in high-value deals, while foreign investors are also interested in returning to the market, especially focusing on two potential areas: healthcare and education.
With support from economic policies and the need to expand business operations, 2025 is expected to continue to be a vibrant year for the M&A market. However, to optimize opportunities, investors need to closely monitor geopolitical developments, interest rates and valuation strategies in a competitive market.
