Singapore’s GIC Pte Ltd has invested in Hanoi-based VNPay Payment Solutions JSC (VNPay), the sovereign wealth fund’s first investment in a Vietnamese financial technology startup, according to a report published by online news website DealStreetAsia.
The April 10 report, which cites two unidentified sources, says GIC was the lead investor in a round of financing for VNPay which raised “upwards of US$50 million”.
VNPay, founded in 2017, provides online payment gateway solutions to banks.
A person familiar with fundraising by Southeast Asian startups, confirms GIC was the lead investor in the Vietnamese firm. This person tells Asia Asset Management (AAM) that Sea Group, a Singapore-based online games and e-commerce company, was also one of the investors in VNPay.
Sea Group, which counts China’s Tencent Holdings as a major shareholder, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Spokespersons for GIC, Sea Group, and VNGroup did not immediately respond to questions from AAM.
GIC has other investments in Vietnam, including in property developer VinHomes and lender Techcombank.
GIC doesn’t disclose its assets data but according to London-based research firm Sovereign Wealth Centre, the fund had $398 billion of assets under management at the end of March 2018.
