PropertyGuru just poured “strategic investment” into Vietnamese real estate portal

The Ho Chi Minh City skyline. Photo credit: quangpraha / 123RF.

Online property finder PropertyGuru today invested in real estate portal Batdongsan, according to Vietnamese outlet VNExpress.

(Update, 4/10: The investment has been officially announced by PropertyGuru. This story has been updated with more information and comments from PropertyGuru CEO Hari Krishnan.)

PropertyGuru is available in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand through local offices and acquisitions. It has partnered with real estate portals in China, Hong Kong, India, and Australia to extend its reach to those markets.

The two companies have collaborated for the past three years and this deal brings them closer together. “PropertyGuru’s support and capitalization, including access to new technologies and industry innovation, will allow us to grow into a major player in the region,” says Batdongsan founder and CEO Le Xuan Truong.

The value of the deal isn’t disclosed but it makes PropertyGuru “one of the key shareholders” of Batdongsan. The Singaporean company now has two seats (out of five) in Batdongsan’s board of directors.

The deal gives PropertyGuru access to the rapidly growing Vietnamese market. Vietnam’s GDP grew by 5.5 percent in the first half of 2016 and the country boasts a younger-skewing population, 74 percent of which is under 35. That makes it a very attractive territory, PropertyGuru CEO Hari Krishnan tells Tech in Asia.

“There is a rising middle class in Vietnam and it has aspirations of home ownership,” he says. “Batdongsan is the dominant player [in the country] and through this deal we can bring more value and choice to consumers there.”

The two companies will work closely together to grow the Vietnamese startup.

Similar to PropertyGuru, Batdongsan features properties for sale or rent in Vietnam, as well as news, content, and advice on the country’s property market. The site is reported to have over 2 million users, operating out of seven offices across Vietnam.

PropertyGuru has raised a disclosed total of US$183 million to date. It claims to have over 15 million monthly users and annual transactions worth US$15 billion.

Last month, the company announced that co-founder and CEO Steve Melhuish stepped down and assumed the role of vice chairman. Former LinkedIn vice president for Asia Pacific Hari Krishnan succeeded Steve as CEO.

The group also includes CommercialGuru, a commercial property portal, and a mortgage finder service.

Going forward, the company will continue investing in new technology and research and development, Hari says. “We’ve spent a lot of time and money [on this] and you will start seeing the fruits of that soon.” Examples include property views by drones and through virtual reality.