Leading corporations revealed as contributors to the Ho Chi Minh City Venture Capital Fund

On the afternoon of April 17, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee announced the launch of a Venture Capital Fund operating in the form of a joint stock company. The fund's full name is the Ho Chi Minh City Venture Capital Fund Joint Stock Company (abbreviated HCM VIF JSC).

The fund has initial charter capital of VND 500 billion, of which the City budget contributes 40%, equivalent to VND 200 billion; the remaining VND 300 billion is the initial contribution of leading private investors, enterprises, and financial institutions. These include Sovico Group contributing VND 100 billion, Vingroup contributing VND 60 billion, Becamex contributing VND 50 billion, VinaCapital VND 25 billion, and Sunwah Group VND 25 billion. Enterprises such as VNG, FPT, CT Group, Hoa Sen... each contribute VND 10 billion...

Mr. Hoang Duc Trung, Director of the VinaCapital Ventures fund, has been assigned to take charge of operating this new fund, alongside the representative of the State's capital stake, Mr. Nguyen Huu Dung, Director of the Quang Trung Software Park.

This structure reflects a close public-private cooperation model. Budget capital plays the role of building trust and getting things started, while social resources are the key factor for scaling up the Fund over the long term.

This is an entirely new financial model in Ho Chi Minh City, allowing State capital to accept controlled risk, thereby effectively mobilizing and leading social resources to accompany Ho Chi Minh City's innovative startup ecosystem.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, emphasized that the birth of the Ho Chi Minh City Venture Capital Fund Joint Stock Company is a breakthrough answer to the problem of early-stage investment capital.

This affirms that Ho Chi Minh City always accompanies the innovation system and the innovative startup ecosystem; it marks a historic step in translating the central government's major guidelines on science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation into action.

The participation, as founding shareholders, of investment funds, corporations, and leading technology unicorns is expected to bring international-standard governance thinking, a vast market network, and a deep understanding of the innovative startup ecosystem.

“Enterprises have joined Ho Chi Minh City in pioneering the opening of the domestic venture-capital market, sharing benefits and risks to nurture the country's technology enterprises of the future,” Mr. Cuong emphasized.

The leadership of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee also requested the Department of Finance and relevant departments and agencies to continue to guide and promptly resolve any obstacles arising as the Fund goes into operation and practical activity. This will help create a healthy innovative-startup investment ecosystem, making Ho Chi Minh City an innovation hub and an attractive destination for domestic and international entrepreneurs.

Under the roadmap to 2035, Ho Chi Minh City aims to raise the Fund's total charter capital to at least VND 5,000 billion. Of this, State budget capital is VND 2,000 billion; private-investor capital accounts for 60%, at VND 3,000 billion (or a higher proportion).

The fund prioritizes investment in innovative startups, science and technology enterprises, and digital-technology industrial enterprises with rapid growth potential.

Key focus areas include artificial intelligence, big data, semiconductor microchip technology, biotechnology, green technology, automation and robotics...; along with digital-economy and circular-economy solutions and digital-transformation solutions aligned with the sustainable-development orientation.

According to Mr. Hoang Duc Trung – in charge of operating the Ho Chi Minh City Venture Capital Fund – with a size of VND 500 billion in the initial phase and an expectation of reaching VND 5,000 billion after 10 years, the Fund is not merely a set of financial figures but also embodies the trust of Ho Chi Minh City's leadership and of the public in a future of growth based on technology and innovation.

The Fund sets a target that each dong of capital will become a magnet attracting an additional three to five dong of capital from private and international investment funds, focusing on outstanding startup seeds in the fields of core technology and green solutions and digital transformation.

Also according to Mr. Trung, the Fund will focus on Series A and B funding rounds – the stage at which many Vietnamese startups are hungry for capital to break through in scale.

The Fund not only provides financial capital but also accompanies enterprises in governance, connects them with networks of experts and investors, and supports them in enhancing competitiveness and expanding in both the domestic and international markets.

The Fund plans to invest in 50-150 innovative startups and high-tech science and technology enterprises during the 2026-2035 period; support the commercialization of at least 50 products/technologies; and incubate a minimum of 5 large-scale technology enterprises capable of IPO or M&A (mergers and acquisitions).