Investors optimistic for 2016

HA NOI-Vietnamese investors are expecting more transactions from State-owned enterprises' (SOE) equitisation rather than by private/family firm owners, Grant Thornton Viet Nam's latest survey said.

In the 14th survey on the private equity sector, carried out between December 2015 and January 2016, a majority of the respondents maintain their positive views about Viet Nam's economy. Eighty-six per cent of the respondents expect the level of investment activities to increase in Viet Nam in the next 12 months.

Grant Thornton Viet Nam said the positive outlook of the market was the result of various improvements made recently, such as two legislative changes to promote private sector participation in the Government's infrastructure projects and increased foreign ownership limits in listed companies, the Asean Economic Community (AEC) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

According to an assessment made by the American Chamber of Commerce, Viet Nam ranked second among the AEC members and the first among the TPP members that received more investments after joining the groups,the survey said.

It is expected that Viet Nam will receive more FDI on the back of the AEC's removal of non-tariff barriers, removal of tariff from more than 90 per cent of the goods currently subject to tariffs, and a reduction in others between now and 2018.