Foreign investment into Vietnamese start-ups expected to rise
Foreign investment into Vietnamese start-ups expected to rise
Foreign investment into Vietnamese startups is predicted to increase although the COVID-19 pandemic has left negative impacts on the economy, according to experts.
Buildings in the central business district in Ho Chi Minh City. PHOTO: VNA/VNS
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HSBC Bank Vietnam announced that it has supported General Atlantic and Dragoneer Investment Group in co-leading a USD250 million in Series B funding round in VNLIFE Corporation Joint Stock Company (VNLIFE), a leading technology company pioneering the development of Vietnam’s digital ecosystem.
This is considered the largest capital raising deal revealed in the venture capital market in Vietnam recently. The injection of capital is expected to accelerate the growth of VNLIFE’s existing businesses and support its development of new platforms and technologies to better serve its merchant partners and Vietnamese consumers.
Similarly, VinaCapital Ventures (V2), the technology investment platform of VinaCapital Group, said it has invested in GlobalCare, an insurtech company that provides solutions for the sale and administrative processes of insurance agencies and business partners selling non-life insurance policies.
Founded in 2017 by Đinh Thi Ngoc Niem and her co-founder, Hàng Minh Loi, GlobalCare’s distributors and agencies, including 3,000 distributors to online transaction points and other leading service sharing platforms, provides a variety of insurance products for customers to choose. It also offers a complete technology solution for more than 10 major distribution channels and 200,000 insurance agents.
The terms of the investment were not disclosed but based on GlobalCare’s contributions to the insurance industry and V2’s investment history, the transaction value is expected to reach millions of dollars.
Earlier in August, Loship, a delivery startup in Vietnam, announced that it successfully raised USD12 million in Pre-Series C round, bringing the company’s valuation to over USD100 million.
This round of financing was jointly led by venture capital firm BAce Capital backed by Ant Group and investment unit of Sun Hung Kai Co Lt, an investment company listed in Hong Kong.
The money will help Loship increase its presence in five key markets including Ho Chi Minh City, Hà Noi, Đà Nang, Can Tho and Biên Hòa.
General Director of VinaCapital Group Don Lam said that seeing the development trend of the Vietnamese startup community, the Group established VinaCapital Ventures to take advantage of its experience, financial background and partner network to support startups.
According to VinaCapital Ventures Chief Executive Officer Hoàng Đuc Trung, every year VinaCapital Ventures evaluates hundreds of potential investment opportunities either through partners such as Zone Startups, which have invested in Fundiin or cooperated with other entities.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, they were always busy finding and evaluating potential startups and finalising investment deals, he said.
