VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam has no startups with value of $1 billion and higher (called unicorns), but foreign investment funds are optimistic about the future. Last year, Lee Jea Woong came to Vietnam seven times. He was one of three founders of Daum Communications, now Kakao. In 2016, he left the company and set up a venture fund and two startup incubators. He is now CEO of Socar. Daum, established in 1995, is now valued at $10 billion, with 4,000 workers, several dollar billionaires and many millionaires. Lee said Vietnam now has favorable conditions to produce unicorns, like South Korea of 20 years ago. “It’s time for Vietnam unicorns to turn up,” he said at the Forbes Vietnam Tech Summit 2019 on March 14. South Korea underwent industrialization in the 1960s, developed an IT industry in 2000s and is now entering the 4.0 industrial era. All three stages are occurring in Vietnam at the same time, which is a chance for Vietnam to make a jump in development. In … [Read more...] about Foreign investment funds optimistic about startup potential
Investment fund pitch deck
Tough year predicted by investment funds as VN Index falls
VietNamNet Bridge - Big challenges for the stock market may occur in 2019, according to investment fund management companies. The Swedish Tundra Vietnam Fund likened Vietnam’s stock market in 2018 to a roller coaster. In the first half of the year, the market performed well with the VN Index hitting the peak of 1,205 points in mid-April 2018. Meanwhile, in the second half, it fell to 892 points. The index decreased by 9.4 percent in 2018. Even the two largest funds in Vietnam, which are managing billions of dollars worth of capital, namely VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VOF) managed by VinaCapital, and Vietnam Enterprise Investments Ltd (VEIL) of Dragon Capital, reported NAV decreases of 9 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively. Foreign investment funds such as Dragon Capital, VinaCapital, Vietnam Holdings Ltd, Pyn Elite Fund, and Tundra Vietnam Fund also reported the same problem. RELATED NEWS Foreign investment funds target market for mothers and kids Investment … [Read more...] about Tough year predicted by investment funds as VN Index falls
Investment funds make modest gains
Investment funds reported their growth rates had been outpaced by the banking system’s one-year saving rate, which is around 6.6 per cent, data on cafef.vn showed.— Photo cafef.vn Most investment funds in Viet Nam’s equity market have recorded modest gains and were beaten by the growth of the benchmark VN-Index in the past three quarters. At the end of September, the benchmark VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange gained total 3.34 per cent from its 2017 end of 984.24 points. The large-cap VN30 Index, which represents the group of large-cap stocks with the greatest impact on the movement of the market, was up nearly 2 per cent during the nine months. Investment funds reported their growth rates had been outpaced by the banking system’s one-year saving rate, which is around 6.6 per cent, data on cafef.vn showed. Among foreign-owned investment funds that out-performed the VN-Index in the first nine months, the best-performing was the Sweden-based Tundra Vietnam Fund … [Read more...] about Investment funds make modest gains
Investment funds’ money funnelled to technology firms
VietNamNet Bridge - More large-scale investment funds are being set up, and the value of investment deals is increasing, especially in technology startups. Announcing the establishment of VinaCapital Ventures with $100 million in early September, Don Lam, CEO of VinaCapital, said that VinaCapital will continue investments in technology startups, which it began doing 10 years ago with DFJ VinaCapital. In Vietnam, real estate and manufacturing have received the most attention from the public and investors. However, some investors have realized that technology firms have the greatest potential for development. Not only VinaCapital Ventures, but many other funds have also announced they will pour money into technology firms. Sendo, an e-commerce platform owned by FPT, has called for $51 million from eight strategic investors presided by SBI Holdings.Funds diversify investment fields RELATED NEWS Startups need venture capital Venture funds do small amount of business … [Read more...] about Investment funds’ money funnelled to technology firms
Bearish market does not deter investment funds
Foreign investment funds remain upbeat about the Vietnamese market’s potential, Photo: Le Toan In this year’s past quarter, the Vietnamese stock market went through a corrective period, as the main gauge VN-Index tumbled by 20 per cent from its historic peak of 1,170 points in March. External volatilities on trade and foreign currencies threatened to drag the market down further. However, foreign investors, who have seen the value of their portfolio going south, now take refuge in the upbeat business results of leading Vietnamese firms. Tundra Vietnam Fund, the first Scandinavian fund focused solely on Vietnam, noted that they saw earnings growth in key sectors, such as banking, real estate, materials, and construction. The financial sector posted year-on-year growth between 50 and 150 per cent, which excited Tundra Vietnam as Saigon Securities and HDBank are both among its top 10 holdings. Specifically, Saigon Securities posted VND2.1 trillion ($92.92 million) in gross … [Read more...] about Bearish market does not deter investment funds