[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1564574228619{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]VinaCapital Ventures, a $100-million venture capital arm of asset management firm VinaCapital, has established a strategic partnership with Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund, a $1 billion joint fund by Korea’s leading financial group Mirae Asset and internet company Naver.
As part of the partnership, Mirae Asset, that has over $375 billion in assets under management, will invest an undisclosed amount in VinaCapital Ventures, while Naver will work with its portfolio companies to facilitate their expansion plans.
“We are excited to collaborate with Mirae Asset and Naver not simply for the financial investment but for the opportunity to access the experience and technologies that will help our investee companies reach their potential,” said Khanh Tran, partner at VinaCapital Ventures at the Vietnam Venture Summit on Monday. “Naver, which operates a variety of online businesses including the popular LINE messaging app, is well-positioned to help Vietnamese startups crack overseas markets such as Korea, Japan, and beyond,” he added.
Echoing the same sentiment, Charlie (Choonghwan) Lee, Head of Outbound Investment at Mirae Asset Capital said: “VinaCapital… is one of the pioneering venture capital investors in Vietnam. We share their belief that the opportunities in this country are enormous, and we look forward to working with them and their investees to achieve even greater success.”
Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund has been increasingly setting its focus on the Southeast Asian market. In May, it reportedly invested $100 million in an extended Series A round in Singapore-based cloud-based software provider Deskera, marking its deal in the Southeast Asian market this calendar year.
Earlier, in January, the fund invested as much as $50 million in Indonesian e-commerce startup Bukalapak. Its other portfolio companies in the region include Grab, HappyFresh and BigBasket. It is also reportedly participating in Indian ride-hailing startup Ola’s $1-billion Series J round.
Launched in 2018, VinaCapital Ventures is a $100 million technology holding company that invests in the next generation of Vietnamese and Southeast Asian startups.
The firm in March added two more Vietnamese startups to its portfolio. The companies are Urbox, a digital gifting platform, and Wee Digital, a fintech startup that uses biometrics and AI to authenticate customers and enhance security.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
