Mergers, Acquisitions and Market Concentration in the Banking Sector: The Case of Vietnam

Abstract

Following the global trend, Vietnam also started opening up its economy and domestic reforms in 1986 and implemented a number domestic market reforms including in the banking and finance system. The merger and acquisitions (M&A) of banks have been a main component of the reform process. There have not been serious attempts to evaluate the M&A process and its impacts on the banking industry in a systematic way. The main purpose of this study is to fill that literature gap by providing a historical narrative of the M&A activities in Vietnam’s banking industry and analyzing its impacts on the system and market structure via quantitative and qualitative approaches, particularly using concentration indices.