John Reed, James Kynge and Mercedes Ruehl reported yesterday at The Financial Times Online that, “Vietnamese companies in sectors ranging from trucking to fintech and facial recognition are attracting a record wave of venture capital money, drawn in by the digital transformation and growing wealth of one of Asia’s youngest and fastest growing economies.
“The country is making headway in the south-east Asian nations’ race to build their first ‘unicorns’, fund managers say. Such companies, with valuations of $1bn or more, gain the attention of foreign investors and help sustain a bigger venture scene.
“The numbers show investments into Vietnam are growing in size and total amount. The country saw 24 deals worth $128m in the first half of this year, up from six transactions worth $12m in the same period a year ago, according to Asian Venture Capital Journal, a trade publication.”
“Venture capital piles into Vietnamese technology companies,” by John Reed, James Kynge and Mercedes Ruehl. The Financial Times (July 24, 2019).
The FT article noted that, “Many of the start-ups are being founded by returning members of the Vietnamese diaspora, or locals who worked or studied abroad before returning home to start companies.
“‘Vietnam has reverse brain drain. In a lot of countries, the best and brightest go to school abroad and stay there,’ said Justin Nguyen, who heads Monk’s Hill Ventures, a VC fund focused on south-east Asia. ‘We have people returning from the US who went to school there, or people like me who left as children, bringing back the rich experience from abroad.'”
