The number of start-ups in Vietnam has nearly doubled since the start of the pandemic, according to a report by KPMG and HSBC. Another report, by Google, Bain & Co. and Temasek, found investment in private deals in Vietnam had tripled in 2021 from the prior year.
“Southeast Asia is going to be a global growth engine in the next 10 years and Vietnam will be at the center of it,” Vinnie Lauria, an American venture capitalist who relocated to Ho Chi Minh City last year, told Bloomberg.
Despite the influx of investment into the sector, regulations—including the requirement to store user data within Vietnam’s borders and complex foreign direct investment rules—have complicated its growth. Vietnam’s venture flows still trail behind Indonesia’sand Singapore’s.
Dan Keeler is founder and editor-in-chief at Frontier Markets News and the founder and host of FMN’s podcast.
Prior to founding FMN, Dan was Editor, Frontier Markets at the Wall Street Journal.
