Vietnam
Investment/M&A activities:
- Royal De Heus acquires CJ Feed & Care's Vietnam operations: Dutch agribusiness Royal De Heus announced on October 1, 2025, that it had signed an agreement to acquire 100% of CJ Feed & Care's operations in Vietnam. The acquisition, part of a larger regional deal, reinforces De Heus's position in Vietnam’s animal nutrition sector, where it has operated since 2009, and aims to expand support for independent livestock and aquaculture farmers. Read more here.
- FTSE Russell announces Vietnam's upgrade to Emerging Market status: On October 7, 2025, index provider FTSE Russell announced that Vietnam will be upgraded from "Frontier" to "Secondary Emerging Market" status. The reclassification, which will take effect in September 2026, is a landmark event for the country's capital markets. The upgrade is expected to attract significant foreign capital inflows as global funds benchmarked to the index will be required to add Vietnamese-listed equities to their portfolios. Read more here.
SEA
Investment/M&A activities:
- Singapore’s Endowus secures over $70m in growth funding: Singapore-based digital wealth platform Endowus announced in early October that it had secured over USD 70 million in a new growth funding round. The raise was led by Illuminate Financial, with participation from Prosus Ventures and Citi Ventures, bringing the firm's total funding to over USD 130 million. The capital will be used to scale its operations in Singapore and Hong Kong, where its assets under management have crossed USD 10 billion. Read more here.
EMEA
Others:
- Germany’s ‘HammerHAI’ positioned as future EU AI hub: Following a visit from the EU Digital Commissioner in early October, Germany’s "HammerHAI" AI factory in Stuttgart is being positioned as a potential hub for a future EU "AI Gigafactory." The facility, backed by the Schwarz Group and the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS), is one of 13 initial AI factory sites and serves as a key incubator to help Europe build its own large-scale AI infrastructure and strengthen digital sovereignty. Read more here.
