Vinnie Lauria, founder and chief executive officer of Golden Gate Ventures, affirmed Vietnam is the third pillar of the “Golden Triangle of Startups” in South-East Asia.
HANOI: Vietnam is joining the “Golden Triangle of Startups” in South-East Asia with its strong, young domestic market, tremendous tech talent and continuous innovation which is expected to open up growth opportunities for the region in the near future.
In his opening remarks at the Vietnam Venture Summit 2022 under the theme “Shifting Global Capital Flows”, Planning and Investment Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said global investment trends are changing profoundly as a result of geopolitical uncertainties and the risk of recession in many big economies.
The shift of capital flows has been taking place strongly among regions and countries, in which there are fewer investment opportunities for both startups and investors.
Braving difficulties and challenges, Dung said Vietnam has always adhered to the goal of stabilising the macroeconomy, controlling inflation and ensuring social security, laying solid ground for the country’s strong recovery after the pandemic and turning the country into an attractive investment destination.
In the first 11 months of 2022, foreign direct investment in Vietnam stood at nearly US$20bil (RM88.7bil), up 15.1% year-on-year.
Dung said foreign funds committed to investing in Vietnamese startups have also been increasing, from US$425mil (RM1.89bil) in 2019 to US$815mil (RM3.6bil) in 2020.
“The value reached nearly US$2bil (RM8.87bil) during 2020 to 2022, which demonstrates the growing attractiveness of Vietnamese startups to international and regional investors,” he said, adding that Vietnam attracted nearly US$500mil (RM2.2bil) of investment in innovative startups in the first nine months in 2022 with higher deal values compared to the same period last year, which “is a good sign for Vietnam’s innovative startup ecosystem”.
Vinnie Lauria, founder and chief executive officer of Golden Gate Ventures, affirmed Vietnam is the third pillar of the “Golden Triangle of Startups” in South-East Asia.
The symbiosis of Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam will open up the next growth opportunity for South-East Asia.
Lauria said in the first decade of South-East Asia’s startup ecosystem, Singapore and Indonesia were the leading growth drivers, with Singapore bringing financial and human capital to the table, and Indonesia bringing a huge domestic market.
“Fast forward to 2022, Vietnam is the third pillar of this golden triangle, bringing a combination of top tech talent, an inherent Vietnamese culture of entrepreneurship and a fast-growing domestic market.
“When you put all these elements together, it’s not hard to see why more global investors are betting big on South-East Asia,” he said.
Vietnam has a number of factors that make it South-East Asia’s latest crown jewel and an attractive destination, including political stability, a young and highly educated workforce, developing infrastructure, digital skills and ability to innovate, and the support of the government for the startup ecosystem.
Thirty-nine investment funds pledged US$1.5bil (RM6.65bil) in Vietnam’s startups in the 2023 to 2025 period. Total investment value in Vietnamese startups is expected to reach US$5bil (RM22bil) during this period.
The Vietnam Venture Summit is an annual conference hosted by the Planning and Investment Ministry, co-organised by the National Innovation Centre (NIC) and Golden Gate Ventures to connect South-East Asia’s start-up ecosystem with the global community of venture capitals.
Vietnamese startups raised a record US$1.4bil (RM6.2bil) with 165 transactions in 2021, up 1.6 times from US$894mil (RM3.97bil) and 126 transactions in 2019, which indicated the market has regained momentum .
According to the NIC, the upward trend is forecast to continue in 2023 with gross domestic product forecast to reach 6.7%.
Vietnam has become a leading candidate for the shift of capital flows, the NIC said, adding that the country is now at an important turning point in its economic development process.
Its stature in the region, the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the strong growth of investment funds have created a favourable scenario for Vietnam.
Up to now, Vietnam has 20 private innovative startup investment funds established under Decree No. 38/2019/ND-CP in 2019, with total charter capital of more than 100 billion Vietnamese dong (RM18.6mil).
Vietnam’s institutional quality and policy-making capacity for Industry 4.0 are highly appreciated internationally.
In the Global Innovation Index 2022, Vietnam’s institutional rating increased sharply from 83rd place in 2020 and 2021 to 51st place in 2022.
Support mechanisms and policies of the government, ministries and local authorities have created the necessary mechanics for the strong development of the innovation ecosystem. — Viet Nam News/ANN
