RStartups attract investment of US$205mn in 2016
Some 50 Vietnamese startups received US$205 million in investment capital last year, a 25% decline compared to 2015, according to the latest report from the Topica Founder Institute (TFI), a startup accelerator program managed by Topica Edtech Group.
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The number includes startups that have officially announced their establishment and those that have made no such announcement.
Although the amount of capital to be invested fell, the total amount of investments in Vietnamese startups increased by 46% against 2015, reaching US$205 million, the highest figure to date.
Startups in the fintech sector led, with total capital of US$129 million.
Thirty per cent was seed funding, 40% Series A, 4% Angel capital. and 4% Series C.
Notable deals included Mekong Capital investing in the F88 pawn shops chain, Got it! successfully mobilizing US$9 million, and Momo e-wallet receiving investment of US$28 million from Standard Chartered and Goldman Sachs.
The TFI report also showed that the value of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals peaked at US$110 million.
Significant deals included E-pay selling 62.5% of shares to UTC Investment for US$34 million and VNG moving back into the domestic e-commerce market by acquiring 38% of Tiki, raising the company’s value to US$45 million.
The Central Group also took over Zalora last year and strengthened its online sector, along with acquisitions of Nguyen Kim and Big C, while PropertyGuru took over a major stake in Batdongsan.com.
According to the TFI, local investors are still afraid of startups and most major deals involve foreign investors.
