According to Ngo Cong Thanh, who is in charge of the ministry’s Foreign Investment Department Service Section, the decree will outline legal procedures for M&A deals and set a ceiling for foreign ownership in business transactions.

To cope with the pressure from fierce competition during international economic integration, local businesses have taken measures to increase their capacity by selling and purchasing shares or merging with other domestic and foreign enterprises.

Mr Thanh said while the M&A trend is growing in Vietnam, attracting FDI through M&A only makes up around 5 percent of the total. However, he predicted it will increase along with the increasing number of foreign businesses entering the country.