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Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn is the latest big tech name to invest in Vietnamese startup Loship

Tallinn’s investment in Loship puts him on a list of global tech leaders betting on Vietnamese tech startups, which has shown resilience and growth even amidst COVID-19. Thus, Loship is poised to become a prominent tech figure for any seasoned investor looking at Vietnam, according to Loship CEO Trung Hoang Nguyen.

“MetaPlanet’s investment will help us build a much stronger image of Loship as a National Startup Hero. The competition will be much steeper in the long term, and we hope to pick up deep tech insights from Jaan Tallinn that can be applied to the Vietnam market,” he further opined.

The latest fundraising, which is part of the startup’s Series C round, comes just four months after its undisclosed bridge round led by Vulpes Investment Management. The new funding would fuel Loship’s path to becoming Vietnam’s leading one-hour-delivery e-commerce platform.

“We already have a winning playbook, and we look to expand it to more markets. Secondly, we know what we want to do with our product, and there are just 1 per cent of things that have been done. So, a huge portion of the funding will be poured into upgrading our app and increasing our tech capability. Also, we will ramp up marketing strategies to strengthen our foothold in the existing markets,” stated the CEO.

Founded in 2017, Loship traces its roots back to Lozi , a review app allowing users to find food, beverage, and coffee shops, before transitioning into a one-hour-delivery services platform. Loship had earlier closed its Series A and B rounds from several investors, including South Korea’s Smilegate Investment, Hana Financial Group, DTNI, Golden Gate Ventures, before announcing its Vulpes Investment Management-led bridge round in October 2020. The round was joined by DAAL Ventures and Wealth Well (Saudi Arabia-based VC Firms), Eucagi Ventures (Nigerian VC Firm), KI Group, and the vice president of Starbucks.

Hanoi (VNA) – Investor s are confident in the potential of Vietnam’s innovative startup ecosystem, and believe the country will become a big investment market in the region and the world, according to head of the Vietnam representative office of Genesia Ventures, an investment fund of Japan, Hoang Thi Kim Dung.

According to a report published by Do Ventures – a venture capital fund that focuses on making investments in tech startups in Vietnam and Southeast Asia –  in 2020, Vietnam’s innovative startup ecosystem ranked third in Southeast Asia, after Singapore and Indonesia.

Vietnam’s national innovation startup ecosystem is likely to earn a berth in the top 15 emerging ones in the Asia-Pacific region by 2030, the report said.

The Prime Minister in 2016 approved a project to support the national innovative startup ecosystem through 2025 under Decision No. 844/ QD-TTg (Project 844), which was designed to promote and support the formation and development of startup projects or startup enterprises and urgently complete the legal system to support innovative startups.

To further promote the development of Vietnam’s innovative startup ecosystem in an intensive manner, recently the PM has approved the amending and supplementing of a number of articles in Decision No 844/QD-TTg.

Accordingly, an additional target is to build a system of innovation centres to support research and development (R&D) and creative startups, in tandem with ensuring their successful operation with specific, outstanding and highly competitive mechanisms and policies to make sure that they will be on par with other regionally and internationally leveled ones.

The green light will be given to developing national creative startup support centres in Vietnam’s three largest cites: Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, and innovative startup centres at ministries, sectors and localities, and organizations which boast potential for  innovation and startup.

Attention will be paid to encouraging more interaction amongst innovative startup centres across the country and innovative startup ecosystems at home and abroad.

Vietnam hopes to establish international cooperation programmes with partners in at least five prestigious innovative startup ecosystems in the world by 2025, and attract more foreign resources to support domestic innovation startups.

According to statistics from the Project 844’s office, there are nearly 100 venture capital funds in Vietnam, including about 20 domestic funds. Each investment fund has different networks and strengths, so startups need to thoroughly research and group potential investors in accordance with their development orientation and goals./.

VNA

Hanoi (VNA) – The Hapaco Group JSC is planning to invest 4 trillion VND (174.1 million USD) in a wind power project in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.

The project is among those to be submitted for approval at the group’s annual shareholders’ meeting, which is slated for March 14.

The meeting will also discuss an investment in building a 23-ha care centre for the elderly in the northern city of Hai Phong’s Thuy Nguyen district as well as Hapaco’s new development orientations in social housing and guest worker services.

Hapaco (stock code HAP) was one of the first listed on Vietnam’s stock market. As of December 31 last year, its total asset exceeded more than 808 billion VND.

Last year, the group reeled in 335 billion VND in revenue, an annual decrease of 11 percent. Its after-tax profit, meanwhile, hit 34.3 billion VND, up 69 percent on-year./.

VNA

Dr. Craig Emerson, director of the Australian APEC Study Centre

Vietnam’s success in containing COVID-19 with minimal economic fallout compared to other nations has improved its already-strong reputation for competent governance. The government has been liberalising Vietnam’s economy for decades and is now reaping the benefits of rapid growth.

Vietnam has stood to gain from the recent US-China trade conflict with many companies relocating at least some of their production facilities there. Vietnam is also rapidly adopting digital technologies to deploy automation, smart manufacturing, and big data analytics. Competent economic management, consistent reforms, swift digital uptake, and effective COVID-19 containment make Vietnam a very attractive destination for trade and investment in 2021 and beyond.

Economically, Vietnam is becoming a manufacturing powerhouse, particularly for electronics and apparel. It is also becoming a focal point for regional value chains with preferential access through free trade agreements (FTAs).

It has taken up trade deal commitments and accepted assistance to develop the institutional and regulatory environment, infrastructure, and facilitation to attract investment. The country is also actively working on non-tariff barriers to trade including intellectual property protection, food safety regulations, restrictions on the internet and digital economy, and other governance issues to accelerate the absorption of investment.

Vietnam needs to be considered in terms of its unique qualities and context. It is following its own development path in a new time, with different conditions, drivers, and realities. Comparisons can be made to Japan with its appreciation of tradition; to Singapore with its open trade policies and architecture; China’s southern Guangdong province in population scale and economic activity; and Indonesia in terms of benefits from a demographic dividend.

Vietnam has a web of FTAs that make it a strategic location for foreign investment as it offers preferential access to several markets. Vietnam continues to attract high levels of such funding from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China, the United States, and other countries.

Vietnam maintains an ASEAN-first policy but is drawing attention from global investors, particularly due to its economic growth despite COVID-19 and attracted projects from more than 100 countries into its industrial zones during 2020.

Enterprises from Australia are being encouraged to look into new business prospects in Asia. Photo: Le Tien

Approaching the market

The drivers of growth in Vietnam create attractive conditions and opportunities for Australian business in the post-pandemic environment. There is scope for manufacturing, agriculture, resources, and services businesses to expand engagement with Vietnam, now and into the medium term. The country’s rapid evolution will continue creating further chances as the economy and consumption mature.

There can be an increase in trade in goods where Australia has proven export capacity and readiness to meet demand in Vietnam. There are also possible increases in the value-added contribution of Australian content in Vietnam’s exports of manufactured products.

In addition, there are prospects to increase services trade in existing and new areas, particularly around education, healthcare, insurance, and environmental services. Both governments have prioritised these sectors under the expanding bilateral economic framework. Investment opportunities exist across the manufacturing, agriculture, services, and resources sectors and there are also those in relation to Vietnam’s digital transformation.

Globally, Vietnam is a major exporter of electronic equipment, apparel, and footwear. In terms of the Vietnam-Australia bilateral relationship, there are prospects for expanding Australian exports of beef, wheat and barley, cotton, horticultural products and processed food. There is also scope to expand exports of services in the education, ICT, mining technology, insurance, and environmental and healthcare sectors.

Australian businesses should also be aware of new prospects emerging in relation to Vietnam’s digital transformation and efforts to modernise economic activity through automation, AI, the Internet of Things, and big data.

Vietnam’s top merchandise imports from Australia are coal, iron ore, cotton, live animals, scrap iron, wheat, aluminium, copper, zinc, fruit, and nuts. The proportion of raw materials in the trade flows has steadily increased this century and now represents around half of all Australian merchandise exports.

Trade opportunities for Australia are supported by policy settings in Vietnam that are generally encouraging of foreign investment to advance the country’s position as a major regional trader. Australia’s exports show that businesses are already participating in value chains to which Vietnam belongs.

When semi-processed metals and fibre are shipped from Australia, it is likely they are being sourced by Vietnamese factories as inputs for final products, many of which are exported again for sale.

Vietnam is a promising market for company investment as a densely populated, developing, and urbanising country which is transitioning to an industrial and market-based economy through trade and investment and making great strides to position itself for Industry 4.0. Australia is currently a relatively small investor, but stock has doubled since 2015 and is growing faster than Australian investment into other ASEAN economies.

Most of Australia’s investment in Vietnam is in manufacturing (47 per cent) with lower levels in hospitality (8 per cent), construction/real estate (7 per cent), agribusiness (6 per cent), and healthcare (6 per cent).

Vietnam has historically had some state-owned enterprises (SOEs) with monopolies in particular sectors, some of which continue to operate. Under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Vietnam has committed to providing member countries with a level playing field for their companies competing with SOEs and ensuring any state-designated monopolies do not abuse their market power. Vietnam has also introduced legislation to equitise and divest SOEs and monopolies and ensure that they are offered only limited state preferences.

The CPTPP provides preferential access for Australian businesses to invest in Vietnam. It has the most liberal conditions for any foreign investors in Vietnam and these conditions are also available to other CPTPP members, including two of Vietnam’s largest investors, Japan and Singapore.

Australian movement

Australian businesses are being urged to expand engagement with Asia to capitalise on economic complementarities, diversify supply chains, and benefit from regional growth and integration. As an advanced and globally connected economy in the region, Australia is well placed to benefit from engagement with neighbouring Asian economies to build trade, investment, and innovation networks.

Even before the pandemic, heightened geopolitical tensions in the region driven by a more competitive relationship between the United States and China had highlighted the need for Australia to have a broad and diverse network of trading partners. Many companies in the US and Australia began to adopt a China+1 strategy, with Vietnam emerging as a preferred option.

As the pandemic struck and brought many supply chains to a standstill, first in China and then around the world, businesses and governments soon became painfully aware of their exposure to policy changes overseas. In some cases, this led to calls in Australia to re-shore supply chains, especially for essential medical supplies. More generally, although trade with Vietnam and other economies will not replace trade with China, it may help build resilience.

Australia is generally well-regarded in Vietnam. It is a considered a high-income, advanced economy with much to offer in terms of technology, managerial know-how, and skills. Brand Australia has a strong reputation for being high-quality, safe, and reliable. Exports of goods such as baby products, food, vitamins, and supplements are testament to this reputation.

As the business culture in Vietnam is strongly governed by relationships, Australian businesses should draw on the thriving Australia-Vietnam ecosystem already in place. Onshore and offshore resources are available from national and state governments, industry bodies, academia, students, alumni, diaspora, and locals. The insights and connections of Vietnamese diaspora in Australia, Australian expatriates in Vietnam, and Australian-educated Vietnamese students and graduates will prove invaluable to prospective businesses.

There are a lot of economic complementarities underpinning trade and investment between Australia and Vietnam, as well as traded sectors with the most potential for growth. Besides these, numerous opportunities are arising from the rapid digital transformation of both economies with the adoption of smart manufacturing, digital technologies, and data analytics.

Both governments are equally open about their support for a rules-based security and economic order in Asia, continued trade liberalisation and the centrality of ASEAN in maintaining regional stability.

There has been no better time for Australian businesses to engage in Vietnam. Despite pandemic-related challenges, its economy grew by nearly 3 per cent in 2020 while many of its regional peers, including Australia, fell into recession. Opportunities will continue to unfold for Australian businesses which are willing to engage and adapt to local market conditions, cultural realities, and leverage Australia’s unique assets in the burgeoning eco-system.