Hanoi (VNA) – Foreign investors poured9 billion USD into Vietnamese retail and wholesale markets between January andNovember, accounting for 2.2 percent of the country’s total capital, theMinistry of Planning and Investment said.

The retail sector has been seen as the brightest aspectof the national economy, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said, noting thatin the 11-month period, the total retail sales of consumer goods and servicesreached over 4 quadrillion VND.

If the growth pace is maintained, the domestic retailmarket would hit 200 billion USD in the next two years, experts have forecast.

The Vietnamese retail market, therefore, has becomea magnet to foreign investors.

Earlier this year, SK Group, one of the largestconglomerates of the Republic of Korea (RoK) with businesses across energy,chemicals, telecommunications, semiconductors, logistics, and services, hadinvested 410 million USD to buy 16.26 percent of WinCommerce.

In November, the group continued to buy a 4.9percent stake in the The CrownX for 345 million USD of Masan Group Corporation.

Masan announced in June the completion of a privateissuance of a 5.5 percent stake in The CrownX to a consortium led by AlibabaGroup and Baring Private Equity Asia for a cash consideration of 400 millionUSD.

On December 13, Masan signed a deal for 350 millionUSD primary investment in The CrownX by a consortium of investors comprisingTPG, Platinum Orchid – wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, andSeaTown Master Fund – managed by an indirect subsidiary of Temasek Holdings.

It marks the final round of funding for the TCXeco-system, which now adds up to over 1.5 billion USD from marquee globalinvestors since it began in the first half of 2020.

It gives TCX a valuation of 8.2 billion USD,equivalent to 105 USD per share and representing a 12 percent increase sincethe previous round.

After the deal, Masan will own 81.4 percent of TheCrownX. It intends to use the proceeds to invest in growth initiatives and do ashare buyback.

Dinh Thi My Loan, Chairwoman of the VietnameseRetailers' Association, said to grow further, domestic retail firms need tocatch up with new retail trends and reform their business strategies.

Economist Vu Vinh Phu suggested the enterprisesperfect themselves amid the development of digital technology to become moreattractive to foreign investors./.