In December, we officially had another unicorn startup with successful fundraising of MoMo E-Wallet. Along with that, the domestic industry is also about to welcome a new investor when LEGO Group plans to build a manufacturing plant in Vietnam. Another exciting news for our future economists is the expected growth of the e-commerce industry over the next 5 years!
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MOMO BECOMES “THE NEXT UNICORN” OF VIETNAM
On the morning of December 21, Vietnam’s biggest e-wallet, MoMo, announced the completion of the 5th funding round (Series E). The company had raised approximately $200 million in its latest funding round from global investors, including Mizuho, Ward Ferry, Goodwater Capital and Kora Management.
The investment, a Series E round led by Mizuho – a Japanese bank, puts MoMo among many unicorns in Vietnam. The exact valuation of the company was not revealed. Still, according to Nguyen Manh Tuong, co-founder of the Ho Chi Minh City-based startup, Momo has crossed a $2 billion valuations after this round.
MoMo will invest in other Vietnamese companies, expand service to millions of vendors and enlarge its user base into rural areas. The app maker says it has 31 million users of nearly 100 million people, up from 25 million reported in August.
MoMo aims “to improve the life of the Vietnamese people and merchants through technology, by giving them access to superior, simpler and affordable financial solutions,” co-CEO Nguyen Manh Tuong said.
The e-wallet market has been one of the most significant driving forces behind the country’s move towards a cashless society, and its future looks promising. The latest funding round would support the growth of MoMo as an all-in-one smartphone application or “super app” which offers multiple services, which have proved successful in countries like China and Indonesia.
Source: Nikkei Asia
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THE LEGO GROUP PLANS TO BUILD A $1BN FACTORY IN VIETNAM
On December 8, the Danish toy production company LEGO Group signed a memorandum of understanding with the Vietnam–Singapore Industrial Park Joint Stock Company (VSIP) on the building of a new plant in southern Bình Dương Province.
According to that, the LEGO Group will invest more than US$1 billion in the construction of its first-ever carbon neutral factory in Vietnam, hoping to generate 4,000 jobs. The construction is scheduled for the second half of 2022, and the plant will go into operation two years later (2024). This factory will be LEGO’s sixth manufacturing site globally and the second in Asia.
Addressing the signing ceremony, Danish Ambassador to Vietnam – Mr. Kim Hojlund Christensen, said it was the largest investment in Vietnam ever made by a Danish company, showing the confidence and optimism of Danish investors in the future of this important partnership.
LEGO’s decision to build its plant in Vietnam was attributed to the Vietnamese Government’s plans to expand renewable energy production infrastructure and a collaborative approach to working with foreign companies seeking to make high-quality investments. VSIP General Director Nguyễn Phú Thịnh pledged that VSIP was committed to offering international companies high-quality investments and sustainable solutions to create attractive long-term development opportunities.
The new factory will feature solar panels on its roof, and VSIP will build a nearby solar project on behalf of the LEGO Group. Together, they will plant 50,000 trees in Việt Nam to compensate for vegetation removed during construction.
Source: VNS
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VIETNAM TO BE THE FASTEST-GROWING E-COMMERCE MARKET IN SOUTHEAST ASIA BY 2026
According to a report, Vietnam is expected to be the fastest-growing e-commerce market in Southeast Asia by 2026, with e-commerce Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) reaching 56 billion USD by 2026, 4.5 times the estimated value of 2021 by Facebook and Bain & Company.
In the annual SYNC Southeast Asia report, which looks at the digital economy in the region, the two big market observers said located in a vibrant part of the world, Vietnam is at the forefront of driving change and seizing opportunities to thrive digital transformation in a post-pandemic future.
The study surveyed about 16,700 digital consumers and more than 20 C-level employees in six Southeast Asian countries, including 3,579 survey participants from Vietnam.
The report described Southeast Asia as a leader of the digital transformation in Asia-Pacific and Vietnam as one of the best performers.
In Vietnam, seven out of 10 consumers have digital access, and the country will have 53 million digital consumers by the end of 2021. The number of goods categories purchased by Vietnamese online shoppers this year went up 50 percent compared to 2020. Online stores in Vietnam also rose by 40 percent year on year, resulting in a 1.5-fold increase in nationwide online retail sales.
Some 49 percent of Vietnamese consumers switched to a new online marketplace within the last 3 months, based on considerations of price incentives (45 percent), product quality (34 percent), and availability of goods (33 percent).
For the first time, the payment using cash is at risk of being dethroned, with a significant decrease from 60 percent in 2020 to only 42 percent in 2021. Safety, privacy, and service fees are the three main concerns of Vietnamese consumers when considering these types of payments.
This year, Vietnamese people spent most of their time using social networks, texting, watching videos, shopping online and emailing. They used 72 percent of their time for regular activities at home instead of going out.
Source: VNA
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