Vietnam's Airports Corporation nationalised: Groupe ADP deal scuttled

Vietnam is one of several countries in Southeast Asia where, on the surface at least, it appears as if the government is keen to attract both domestic and foreign investors to its airports portfolio. That appearance might be a little misleading, though.

Aéroports de Paris, which then became Groupe ADP in 2017, looked to tie up a deal with ACV whereby Groupe ADP would acquire a 7.4% equity stake (later 20%) in ACV and make long term investments there. The government approved the deal but it was then stalled by both ACV and Groupe ADP owing to multiple disagreements.

The Vietnamese government currently owns 95.39% of Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), with the remaining 4.61% held by both local and foreign investors. Now, while Ministers are saying that they still welcome investment, the government is proposing to buy back the few shares in ACV not owned by the state, thus effectively nationalising it.