Proptech is hot in Vietnam right now

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Hello readers,

After buying a house with my fiance two years ago, I’ve become the go-to person for friends who are looking for a home. While I’m flattered to be seen as an expert, I’m actually Googling the answers to most of their questions because I still struggle to understand the loans, insurance, and government schemes involved.

This experience has made me realize why proptech is such a hot sector in Singapore. And that’s also the case in Vietnam, where the proptech scene is getting a lot of attention from venture capitalists recently.

Today we look at:

• The rise of proptech in Vietnam
• The (sort of) alternatives to Bitcoin
• Other newsy highlights such as Bukalapak’s reported plan to go public and Tokopedia’s partnership with a Singaporean startup

If you want to find out about the up and coming startups as well as watch six founders pitch live in front of investors, be sure to check out Tech in Asia Pitch Night, which is happening in June! RSVP for free to grab your seats.

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Property tech in Vietnam is getting attention

Vietnam’s proptech industry has caught the eye of venture capitalists lately. Real estate platform Propzy raised US$25 million just last year, while another tech-enabled brokerage Rever secured a total of US$6.3 million in 2019. Since then, more startups have popped up to capitalize on this boom.

• The crowded proptech party: A couple of innovative startups are tackling different aspects of real estate issues. Some of them include Rever, which aims to boost transparency in Vietnam’s brokerage space, and Homebase, which co-invests with home buyers until they can afford full ownership of their property.
• Attracting the big guns: The growing proptech market has also captured the attention of Vingroup, the real estate giant chaired by billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong. The Vietnamese conglomerate launched its one-stop-shop property platform OneHousing.vn last year. With its own development projects and partnerships with major banks, OneHousing already has a competitive edge.
• Challenges remain: While the pandemic has sped up proptech adoption in Vietnam, consumers remain slow to accept the technology. That’s not surprising, considering that e-wallet firms are also finding it difficult to acquire users even when there’s a 70% smartphone penetration in the country.

Read more: Why property tech is Vietnam’s next must-watch sector

PREMIUM SUMMARY

The alternatives to Bitcoin