Vietnam has been ranked second on a list of the world's most active, dynamic and potential markets for merger and acquisition (M&A) deals this year.

According to daily newspaper Vietnam News on Thursday, the country was listed in the latest M&A Investment Index compiled by the research firm Euromonitor among countries with positive M&A prospects including China, India and Israel.

It predicted that Vietnam would remain in the top 20 on the list in 2021, said the report.

Southeast Asian economies like Vietnam are forecast to grow in investment, and is an area for growing M&A activity, said the report, adding that the countries are set to benefit the most, mainly thanks to domestic political and economic reforms.

The total value of M&A transactions in Vietnam reached 15.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2019, an increase by 54 percent from 2018, with consumer goods production and real estate being key industries, the newspaper cited the country's Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) as reporting.

The European Business Association in Vietnam recently forecast that M&As would continue to grow strongly in 2020 as foreign investors sought entry into the local market, the newspaper said.

Euromonitor's M&A Investment Index reflects the expected level of investment, activity and attractiveness of the global M&A market. Its model covers 314,002 M&A deals in 50 countries and regions worldwide between 2015 and 2020.