Investment funds discover Vietnam

In early 2007, Jaccar, a well-known French investment fund, decided to inject money in Hoang Anh Gia Lai Company. At the same time, Aureous in Southeast Asia also pumped capital into Truong Thanh Wooden Furniture Company.

Prior to that, Draper Fisher Juvervetson (DFJ), the leading US venture investment company, joined hands with VinaCapital to set up a new investment fund in Vietnam. Experts’ forecasts given before about the new wave of portfolio investment flow into Vietnam have become true.
“We will move our head office from Europe to Vietnam.” The statement that surprised everybody was made by the president of Jaccar, Jacques De Chateugvieux, at the signing ceremony of the agreement on strategic partnership with Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Company.
The president said that he did not speak prematurely when saying so, stressing that it was the company's actual plan. “Vietnam proves to be a very good destination for doing business. Vietnamese staffs are both clever and diligent. Besides the good business opportunities, I find the labour force here very competitive,” he said.

Several months ago, during his official visit to Vietnam, the Danish Prime Minister cut the ribbon to inaugurate Private Equity New Markets (PRNM), an investment fund managed by BankInvest, which manages the total assets of 23 billion US$, including 3 billion US$ to be injected in developing countries. PENM is managing the capital sum of 80mio US$, which is expected to be injected in unlisted companies in the fields of finance, consumer goods, tourism and hotels.

Prior to that, the appearance of the 112mio US$ Vietnam Holding investment fund was also an event that drew a lot of attention from the financial investors’ circle. 60% of the fund’s capital has been raised from Swiss investors.

Most investment funds are aiming to buy shares of equitised companies or small private companies which need capital to restructure and expand their business scopes.
Don Lam, Director General of VinaCapital, said that VOF (the Vietnam Opportunity Fund managed by VinaCapital) only makes investment in leading companies in every field of the national economy.
VOF has poured money into Kinh Do Confectionary Group, Masan and Pho 24. Mekong Capital eyes small private companies in localities, which use many workers and make products for export.

Louis Nguyen, Managing Director of DFJ VinaCapital L.P stated that projects in information technology (IT) that were original and creative were the ones the venture fund would target.
Tim Draper, the founder of DFJ, added: “We are venture investors. We know that young Vietnamese people are very clever, dynamic and hard working, and will follow new ideas of doing business. We have decided to pursue the big opportunities available here." Though being concerned about the implementation of intellectual property rights in the IT sector and about the limited market opening in the IT sector, Mr Draper still believes that the opportunities are bigger than the challenges.

Source: VEN