Q3 eyed as active time for real-estate M&A

HCM CITY — The period of August–September 2026 is projected to witness heightened merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the real-estate market, driven by enterprises accumulating sufficient resources, favourable site inspection conditions, and accelerated year-end disbursement schedules, experts said."Việt Nam's industrial market is transitioning to a higher-quality supply development phase, where professional management and operation services and supporting ecosystems become key factors. This trend will see logistics continue as an important driver leading M&A activity in satellite cities in 2026," said Tạ Mỹ Bách, director of capital markets, JLL Vietnam.He further elaborated that market sentiment during the August-September period could receive a boost from the anticipated FTSE Russell review for the upgrade of Việt Nam's stock market in the third quarter of 2026.In the outlook towards the 2026–30 period, the market is poised to continue competing based on product and service quality. M&A activities are likely to play a significant role in portfolio restructuring and enhancing supply quality, with industrial land rental prices projected to grow by 5–6 per cent annually over the next five years. With a stable macro-economic foundation, ongoing improvements in infrastructure connectivity, and sustained positive FDI inflows, logistics is positioned to be one of the core segments of Việt Nam's industrial real estate in the upcoming period.JLL suggests that to advance in attracting foreign investment and promoting the M&A market in 2026, comprehensive attention is needed towards addressing three groups of legal challenges.First is the inconsistency in policy implementation across localities, leading to "same law, different interpretations," particularly challenging for logistics projects spanning multiple provinces.Second is administrative processing efficiency and transparency levels, as many promising projects remain delayed awaiting guidance documents or insufficient coordination among agencies regarding land, planning, environment, and transportation; applying a "single electronic window" mechanism with specific processing time commitments could significantly improve progress.Lastly, there is a neccesity to complete the M&A legal framework, including regulations on equity transfers, land use rights in joint venture projects, and dispute resolution mechanisms; simplifying procedures and shortening approval times will create more favourable conditions for large-scale transactions.The real estate M&A market in Việt Nam recorded significant progress in 2025, with the total transaction value reaching approximately US$2.5 billion. This development reflects advancements in legal and planning procedures, along with more effective coordination among market participants.Capital flows continue to prioritise projects with clear legal statuses, approved land banks, and defined development roadmaps. Domestic investors lead in transaction frequency across small- and mid-sized deals, while foreign investors focus on strategic assets in integrated townships, high-end residential areas, and industrial real estate segments.According to JLL's observations, three factors supporting M&A capital flows into logistics are continued demand growth from e-commerce and distribution sectors, placing higher requirements on modern warehousing and goods processing centres; rising land costs in established industrial zones, while modern logistics models require larger land banks, leading to expansion trends toward satellite areas; simultaneously, increasingly high operational standards regarding technology, automation, and ESG practices are driving asset quality upgrades and portfolio restructuring.Within the industrial real estate sector, logistics remains the primary driver of M&A activity, aligned with the trend of expansion into satellite areas. In the South, infrastructure projects including Long Thành Airport, Ring Road 3, Metro Line 2, and Phú Mỹ Bridge 2 are expanding capacity for large-scale logistics centres.In the North, inter-provincial connectivity is being strengthened through Capital Region Ring Road 4, sections of the North-South Expressway East connecting Ninh Bình – Hải Phòng – Quảng Ninh, and projects enhancing access to Lạch Huyện Port and key expressways, thereby improving supply chain linkages among industrial clusters.According to JLL's Q4 2025 report, the logistics market scale is recorded as follows: ready-built factory space in key provinces in the North and South reached 4,067,000sq.m and 5,720,000sq.m, respectively; meanwhile, ready-built warehouse supply in the South reached 2,410,000sq.m and in the North reached 2,043,000sq.m. Average occupancy rates remain above 80 per cent, with average gross asking rents around $5 per one square metre per month. The North leads in new supply in 2025 and is expected to experience strong growth in 2026, with active participation from major market developers.In the context of implemented FDI maintaining record highs at $27.6 billion, foreign investors, particularly from South Korea, Singapore, Japan, and the United States, continue to apply multi-dimensional due diligence with a focus on credibility and execution capability. — VNS