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At 5:00 PM on April 17, at the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Startup and Innovation (SIHUB), the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology held a ceremony to establish the Ho Chi Minh City Venture Investment Fund Joint Stock Company (HCM VIF JSC).
The launch of the Ho Chi Minh City Venture Investment Fund is positioned as a new milestone in the city’s development strategy and is intended to create major opportunities for startups in technology and innovation.
The fund was established with initial capital of 500 billion dong. The city’s budget contributes 40% (equivalent to 200 billion dong), while the remaining amount is mobilized from private investors and reputable financial institutions. Organizers described this as a public-private partnership model designed to build trust and mobilize social resources for innovation.
The city said it will continue supporting the fund and creating favorable operating conditions under market principles, with transparency and efficiency, to attract social resources for the startup ecosystem.
Vice Chairman of the City People’s Committee Nguyen Manh Cuong said the fund will operate as a joint-stock company, ensuring autonomy and transparency in governance and investment decisions. The fund’s operating model was also reiterated by Lam Dinh Thang, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology.
Key founding shareholders announced for the fund include Sovico Group, Vingroup, Becamex Group, VinaCapital, Sunwah Group, VNG, CT Group, Hoa Sen Group and FPT. The fund’s leadership said these participants bring strong financial capacity, governance aligned with international standards, and a broad market network.
Hoang Duc Trung, Director of VinaCapital Ventures, overseeing the fund’s operations, emphasized that the fund will focus on Series A and B rounds—stages where many Vietnamese startups seek capital to scale.
Vice Chairman Nguyen Manh Cuong said the fund addresses the early-stage capital problem and represents a step in implementing central government policies on science, technology, innovation and digital transformation.
The fund was also described as more than a financing source, with a strategic role in supporting startups in priority areas including artificial intelligence, big data, semiconductor technology, biotechnology, green technology, automation and robotics—sectors cited as having high growth potential and aligning with the city’s sustainable development direction.
With a long-term vision, Ho Chi Minh City aims to raise the fund’s charter capital to at least 5,000 billion dong by 2035, following the principle that social resources account for at least 60% of total funding.
The establishment of the Ho Chi Minh City Venture Investment Fund is presented as a strategic move to help unlock capital bottlenecks for startups and to support a healthier investment environment that can attract domestic and international investors.
The city’s startup ecosystem is estimated at around USD 7 billion.
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