Private equity investors are paying more attention to Vietnamese market and ready to put additional resources here in expectation of better long-term returns, according to the Grant Thornton global private equity report 2014-2015.

The report made reference to the bi-annual 12th survey that was conducted in the fourth quarter, 2014, involving decision-makers and investors working in the private equity (PE) sector both in and outside Vietnam.

In the survey, respondents' positive sentiment towards the economy achieved its highest response rate in the last two years, reaching 72 percent.

They intend to maintain or even increase investment fund allocation to Vietnam, in the next 12 months, with responses by 64 percent and 87 percent, respectively.

Education, real estate, food & beverages, and retail are, again, the leading sectors which are seen as especially attractive for investment.

While the role of market growth as a driver of value growth increased from 35 percent to 43 percent among respondents, performance improvement decreased from 49 percent to 35 percent, reflecting the current market condition.

When considering an investment into a Vietnamese private company, transparency in business activities is considered the most important factor with 21 percent of the respondents choosing this category, showing no change compared to the last survey.

Twenty percent of respondents said they are concerned most about corporate governance in Vietnam.

There is an increase among respondents to 41 percent who believe the cost of debt will decrease slightly in the next 12 months.

Nevertheless, the economy is still facing many challenges, including slow reforms in the state-owned sector, inadequate infrastructure, difficulties in obtaining debt financing, corruption, and the complications in government red tape and legislation.

In terms of unattractive ranking, there is a portion of respondents who no longer see the country as a potential destination (5 percent compared to nil in the last survey).

According to the ASEAN Business Outlook Survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, the most attractive countries for new business expansion are Indonesia, followed by Vietnam and Myanmar.

By VNA - vietnambreakingnews.com

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