Vietnamese payments company VNPay has joined the ranks of the Southeast Asian companies which are valued at $1 billion. It is reported that the company has become the second unicorn startup in Vietnam to achieve the $1 billion valuation mark.
It is reported that the company is listed as a unicorn under a report known as e-Conomy SEA 2020 by tech giant Google and its partners. Other companies such as Gojek and Lazada are also presented in the list.
The company has collaborated with 20,000 companies and more than 40 banks. VNPay operates a network of QR code-based payments systems across major cities. The application which has 15 million monthly users is used to carry out transactions such as bus ticket purchase, money transfer and utility bills payment.
VNPay invested $1.7 billion in the Southeast Asian fintech segment in 2019, making it the highest investor by any startup. Furthermore, the 2019 investments also mark a 40-surge compared to 2018.
It is reported that the company received funds worth $300 million from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Softbank Vision Fund in 2019.
Tech firm VNG is the first Vietnamese firm to have valued at $1 billion six years ago. The company’s valuation has surged more than 50 percent now.
The government of Vietnam is aiming to establish five unicorn tech firms within the next five years and increase it to 10 by 2030 as part of its Industry 4.0 advancement plans, media reports said