During an interview with Bloomberg in Hanoi on November 14, Le Thi Bang Tam, chairwoman of HDBank, said that the lender is negotiating with three Japanese partners to sell a maximum 30% stake. However, Tam declined to disclose names of the three Japanese credit institutions.

Earlier, Pham Quang Thanh, investment director of Bao Viet Fund Management Company, told the Daily that a lot of Japanese investors have sought information of Bao Viet’s open-ended fund certificates. They have also offered to cooperate with the enterprise to seek investment opportunities in retail, healthcare and education sectors.

Speaking to the Daily via emails, Japan’s Recof Corporation, which specializes in consultation with regards mergers & acquisitions (M&A) deals, said that M&A transaction value of the financial market in Japan and Vietnam increased steadily from 2009 to 2012. Although no deals were made between January and October this year, Recof believes that Japanese enterprises are interested in the financial market in Vietnam.

According to an M&A outlook report released by Stockplus in April, the M&A deal between Japan’s Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ and VietinBank at the end of 2012 with a total value of US$743 million became the biggest deal during 2012 and 2013’s first quarter.

Another notable deal belonged to Sumitomo Life Insurance, which acquired an 18% stake in Bao Viet Group from HSBC Bank at US$340 million.

In 2007, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group bought a 15% stake in Eximbank at US$225 million and Mizuho Financial also purchased a 15% stake in Vietcombank in 2011 at US$560 million.

Sacombank chairman Pham Huu Phu at a press briefing in November, 2012 said that the lender had plans to sell a 15% stake to a Japanese partner.

Thanh of the fund manager Bao Viet said that Japanese investors have joined the local market for a long time but they have become more active recently thanks to strong resources. While investment opportunities in the country are running dry, local investors have sought ways to penetrate into other markets.

However, as Vietnam and Japan have a good relationship and cultural similarities, Japanese investors have given more priority to Vietnam than regional markets such as Indonesia and Thailand, Thanh said.

Explaining why many local banks have offered shares to Japanese investors, he said that Japanese banks are rather healthy and have offered good conditions when negotiating purchase deals.

Tran Hoai Vu, Recof’s director for Vietnam, said that credit institutions in Japan wish to mark their presence in foreign markers before competitors. Besides, Vietnam has become a noteworthy market after political tension between Japan and China, which has caused adverse impacts on business and labor issues.

Source: The Saigon Times