Following the downturn, Vietnam’s merger and acquisition landscape is set to gain momentum in 2025, driven by spearhead industries from technology to manufacturing. Julien Curtet, partner of Index Partners, shared with VIR’s Thanh Van his insights into the overview and the prospect of the market.

How do you see Vietnam’s merger and acquisition (M&A) market affected by global market volatility?

Julien Curtet, partner of Index Partners

In 2024, global M&A activity rebounded, reaching approximately $3.5 trillion (a 15 per cent increase from 2023) with around 7,500 deals above $30 million. Corporate acquisitions rose by 12 per cent, and financial investor activity surged by 29 per cent, driven by private equity amid easing interest rates. Key sectors included technology, energy, financial services, and telecom.

Vietnam mirrored global trends with notable M&A activity in technology, energy, and industrial sectors, supported by a resilient macro and rising foreign investment.

In 2024, Vietnam’s M&A market experienced a downturn in transaction value, influenced by global economic uncertainties stemming from geopolitical tensions and currency fluctuations. However, deal volume reached around 160 transactions in the second half of 2024, marking a 25 per cent rise from the first half of 2024 and a 32 per cent jump from the second half of 2023, signalling a strong recovery trend and positive momentum for future growth. Some key deals in the second half of 2024 were Masan’s acquisition of an additional 7.1 per cent stake of VinCommerce from SK Group for $200 million, KIDO’s acquisition of Hung Vuong, Nvidia’s acquisition of VinBrain, and SK Group’s $300 million acquisition of Iscvina Manufacturing.

Mid-cap deals up to $25 million dominated Vietnam’s M&A market, accounting for just over half of total deal volume despite a 28 per cent drop in total transaction value. Mid-size transactions in the second half of the year included ADA’s acquisition of Customore and Elan’s $8.89 million acquisition of TMC Vietnam.

Could you shed light on some key drivers for the Vietnamese market in 2025 and beyond?

In 2025, it is set for strong growth, driven by key sectors such as infrastructure, technology, consumer, and manufacturing. Infrastructure will see a surge in investment, particularly in transportation and logistics, supported by government initiatives.

The technology sector is poised for rapid expansion, fuelled by favourable policies and accelerating digital transformation. Consumer spending is expected to rebound from a low base, signalling a recovery in the consumer sector.

Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector, which contributed over one-quarter of GDP in 2024, is projected to grow by 10 per cent in output, supported by new industrial zones and increased foreign investment.

The market is set to accelerate in the second half of 2025, fuelled by stable global interest rates and rising investor confidence.

Vietnam’s strong economic momentum, pro-investment policies, and booming sectors like technology, manufacturing, infrastructure, and recovery of consumer will drive deal activity, cementing its status as a key M&A hub in Southeast Asia.

How do foreign dealmakers approach strategies amidst global economic uncertainty, especially tariffs and new US policy?

Foreign dealmakers are reshaping their M&A strategies. Despite the challenges, Vietnam remains a key destination for cross-border investment, driven by its rapidly expanding technology, consumer, and manufacturing sectors.

Vietnam is rapidly advancing its technology sector, emerging as a significant player in the global digital landscape. Its commitment to technological innovation is evident through key partnerships, such as the collaboration with Nvidia to establish AI research and data centres in the country.

To further entice high-tech investments, the government offers substantial incentives, including up to four years of tax exemptions and a 50 per cent tax reduction for the subsequent nine years, as well as financial support from national sci-tech development funds.

Additionally, Vietnam’s consumer market is expected to recover in 2025, fuelled by a rising population, and increasing disposable incomes, boosting demand for goods and services. With consumer confidence rebounding and spending accelerating across sectors, Vietnam’s consumer market is regaining momentum as a vital driver of economic growth.

Vietnam is emerging as a manufacturing and logistics hub, attracting foreign investments due to its competitive labour costs (20–50 per cent lower than regional peers) and a 9.8 per cent increase in manufacturing output in 2024. An “anything but China” strategy is driving multinationals to shift production to Vietnam.

The country is also benefiting from major infrastructure projects, including the Long Thanh International Airport and deep-sea ports in Haiphong, are strengthening its logistics position, while expanding industrial areas and cross-border e-commerce fuel growth in both sectors.

ST Engineering iDirect, a global leader in satellite communications, has been awarded the President’s Award for Humanitarian Aid/Disaster Response by the Mobile Satellite Users Association (MSUA)

The solution delivers reliable, scalable and secure connectivity for critical public safety operations

HERNDON, Va., March 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — ST Engineering iDirect, a global leader in satellite communications, has been awarded the President’s Award for Humanitarian Aid/Disaster Response by the Mobile Satellite Users Association (MSUA), for its leading-edge satellite technology in public safety communications.

The MSUA is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting satellite mobility innovation and development of the satellite mobility market worldwide. ST Engineering iDirect received the award at a luncheon held during the SATELLITE 2025 conference in Washington, D.C.

ST Engineering iDirect’s public safety solution ensures reliable, scalable and secure connectivity for first responders, emergency services and disaster recovery teams, even in the most challenging environments. Designed for rapid deployment and operational continuity, the solution leverages advanced satellite connectivity to ensure continuous communications where terrestrial networks fail. Its multi-band compatibility across all satellite architectures, along with support for numerous waveforms, ensures flexibility and efficiency in dynamic emergency scenarios.

Darren Ludington, Regional Vice President Americas at ST Engineering iDirect, emphasized the impact of the company’s contributions, “Our satellite technology is a critical enabler of mission-critical operations, supporting customers such as Verizon in their vital efforts to deliver reliable and seamless connectivity for first responders when it matters most. Our longstanding partnership with Verizon’s Frontline team is a testament to how innovation in satellite communications can enhance public safety preparedness on a significant scale.”

Verizon has been a partner of ST Engineering iDirect since 2005. The telecommunications provider uses ST Engineering iDirect’s multiservice ground systems for cellular backhaul, to access communication networks over satellite during disasters and for business continuity.

The MSUA is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting satellite mobility innovation and development of the satellite mobility market worldwide. ST Engineering iDirect received the award at a luncheon held during the SATELLITE 2025 conference in Washington, D.C.

For more information about ST Engineering iDirect’s public safety solution, please visit: https://www.idirect.net/blog/connecting-for-good-st-engineering-idirect-verizon-frontline-in-action/

New Servers Drive Smarter, Faster, and More Efficient AI from the Data Center to the Edge with Entire Range of Intel® Xeon® 6 Processors Supporting Over 40% More Memory Bandwidth and up to 144 CPU Cores

New Servers Drive Smarter, Faster, and More Efficient AI from the Data Center to the Edge with Entire Range of Intel^® Xeon^® 6 Processors Supporting Over 40% More Memory Bandwidth and up to 144 CPU Cores

SAN JOSE, Calif. and NUREMBERG, Germany, March 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Supermicro, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) a Total IT Solution Provider for AI/ML, HPC, Cloud, Storage, and 5G/Edge, is introducing a wide range of new systems which are fully optimized for edge and embedded workloads. Several of these new compact servers, which are based on the latest Intel Xeon 6 SoC processor family (formerly codenamed Granite Rapids-D), empower businesses to optimize real-time AI inferencing and enable smarter applications across many key industries.

Systems for AI and embedded workloads

“As the demand for Edge AI solutions grows, businesses need highly reliable, compact systems that can process data at the edge in real-time,” said Charles Liang, president and CEO of Supermicro. “At Supermicro, we design and deploy the industry’s broadest range of application optimized systems from the data center to the far edge. Our latest generation of edge servers deliver advanced AI capabilities for enhanced efficiency and decision-making close to where the data is generated. With up to 2.5 times core count increase at the edge with improved performance per watt and per core, these new Supermicro compact systems are fully optimized for workloads such as Edge AI, telecom, networking, and CDN.”

For more information, please visit https://www.supermicro.com/en/products/embedded/servers

Supermicro’s new SYS-112D series systems are designed to run high-performance Edge AI solutions and feature the recently launched Intel Xeon 6 SoC with P-cores. These servers feature increased performance, improved performance per watt, and higher memory bandwidth compared to previous generations of systems. In addition, the new servers include AI acceleration, Intel^® QuickAssist Technology with wireless protocols, Intel vRAN Boost Technology, Intel^® Data Streaming Accelerator, and more.

Supermicro’s SYS-112D-36C-FN3P features the Intel Xeon 6 SoC with 36 P-cores, dual 100 GbE QSFP28 ports, up to 512GB of DDR5 memory, and one PCIe 5.0 FHFL slot for a GPU or other add-on card. Combined with Intel’s onboard Media Acceleration and QuickAssist technologies, this makes the system ideal for Edge AI and media workloads, and with a chassis only 399mm/15.7inches deep and with front I/O access, it can easily be deployed in space-constrained environments or embedded in larger systems. Another server based on the same platform, the SYS-112D-42C-FN8P, provides a more telco-optimized configuration, featuring 8 25GbE ports, built-in GNSS and time sync technology, and an Intel Xeon 6 SoC model featuring Intel vRAN Boost. The combination of these features makes this model an all-in-one platform for various workloads in the RAN network.

Supermicro is also introducing two new compact systems, the SYS-E201-14AR and SYS-E300-14AR, which are optimized for IoT and AI inferencing at the far edge. Both systems feature the 15^th Gen Intel^® Core^TM Ultra processors (codenamed Arrow Lake), which features up to 24 cores and an onboard NPU (Neural Processing Unit) AI accelerator. Both systems have two 2.5 GbE network ports, and connectors for HDMI, Display, and USB, and are optimized for enterprise edge use cases. The SYS-E300 can also be expanded to feature a single PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, allowing for the installation of a PCIe GPU card, enabling the system to expand its performance for Edge AI applications in security & surveillance, retail, healthcare, manufacturing and more.

In the edge data center, Supermicro’s edge AI systems can now be installed with the recently launched Intel Xeon 6700/6500 series processor with P-cores. This processor group is designed for the enterprise data center, aiming for a strong balance between performance and efficiency and delivering an average 1.4x better performance than the previous generation across a wide range of enterprise workloads. Supermicro’s 2U Edge AI product family, such as the SYS-212B-FLN2T, combines Intel’s new processor with up to 6 single-width GPU accelerators in a short-depth, front I/O form factor that can be deployed at the enterprise edge as well as in telco and space-constrained environments.