More M&A deals expected in Vietnam’s plastics industry: association chairman

Foreign companies will face challenges acquiring land and making greenfield investments in plastic factories in Vietnam, prompting them to enter the market via acquisitions, says Nguyen Quoc Anh, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Rubber and Plastics Association.

In a talk with The Investor, Anh emphasized the strong potential of Vietnam's plastics market, which continues to attract foreign investors through mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Currently, companies with stake acquisitions by foreign investors dominate the market, including Duy Tan Plastics Manufacturing Corporation in the household plastics sector and Binh Minh Plastics Joint Stock Company in the industrial pipe segment.

He highlighted opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to develop niche markets, such as producing small plastic items like cups, bowls, jars, and bottles.

Anh predicted that Vietnam's plastics exports will see more positive growth in 2025 compared to 2024, driven by increased orders.

"Global businesses are diversifying their supply chains due to concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on Chinese products, leading to higher demand for materials and goods from Vietnam, including natural rubber.

According to Dinh Duc Thang, chairman of the Vietnam Plastics Association, the export turnover of Vietnam's plastics industry in 2024 hit $6.57 billion, up 26.79% year-on-year.

Vietnam's plastics output reached 11.65 million tons in 2024 and the figure continues to grow "impressively". It is expected to surge to 16.36 million tons in 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.44%.

The plastics industry's revenue was estimated to reach $31 billion in 2024, an increase of 23.9% compared to the previous year, "marking an important step forward on the path of integration and sustainable development of the industry".

At a meeting with the association’s members in Ho Chi Minh City in early December, Thang presented his views on the industry's development prospects.

Firstly, the trends of sustainable consumption and circular economy are creating great opportunities for the Vietnamese plastics industry, especially in the production of environmentally friendly, recycled plastic products, meeting the needs of international markets such as the EU, the U.S., and Japan.

Secondly, free trade agreements (FTAs) not only expand export opportunities but also facilitate the improvement of production standards and the development of high value-added products.

However, the Vietnamese plastics industry also faces a number of challenges. Global competition from countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and China is increasingly fierce. Environmental pressures and requirements for carbon reduction, recycling, and limiting single-use plastics require businesses to innovate technology and increase production costs.

Depending on imported raw materials is also a problem when the shortage of domestic raw materials makes businesses vulnerable to fluctuations in the international market.

At the event, Can Van Luc, head of the BIDV Training and Research Institute, said that the revenue of plastics enterprises in the past three years had grown positively, with gross profit margins increasing by about 13-15%. The packaging industry and fields such as construction, food, medicine, and electronics have a strong demand for plastics.

However, the domestic plastics industry also faces many challenges, including changes in consumer behavior, stricter requirements for green production and consumption, fierce competition, and fluctuations in raw material prices. In particular, Vietnam has not yet mastered most of the input materials, leading to high costs and supply chain risks.