Why Vietnam is missing out on SEA’s IPO party

Grab kicked off Southeast Asia’s IPO party on December 2. Even though its listing has performed below expectations, Grab’s achievement could still inspire other IPO hopefuls from the region, including those from Vietnam.

The latest Internet Report from Asia Partners suggests that half of the current 39 unicorns in Southeast Asia could go public in the next decade. After Grab and GoTo, startups like Carousell, Carsome, Carro, Ninja Van may be next in line.

But when will tech companies from Vietnam join the party?

It’s worth noting that in 2014 – when Grab was still a two-year startup called MyTeksi in Malaysia – VNG and Garena were the only two unicorns in Southeast Asia.

Their journeys couldn’t have been more different. Garena’s parent firm, Sea Group, has morphed into a New York-listed titan with a market value of US$140 billion. Shopee, Sea Group’s ecommerce arm, is aggressively growing its empire across India, Europe, and Latin America.

See also: How Shopee can succeed in Poland, India

Meanwhile, VNG’s global efforts are still relatively nascent. Bloomberg recently reported that VNG was looking to raise up to US$300 million ahead of a potential listing in the US. In 2017, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Nasdaq for an IPO but its much-anticipated overseas stock market debut has not yet come to pass.

In response to questions from Tech in Asia, a VNG representative declined to elaborate on its listing plans.

Hot but not there yet

In 2020, Tech in Asia reported that compared to Indonesia, Vietnam’s burgeoning ecosystem had fewer startups raising series A money and beyond.

Since then, the landscape has changed significantly.

In the first half of this year, the total deal value in the country skyrocketed to US$1.3 billion, according to the latest Google-led SEA e-Conomy report.

Regulations are a stumbling block

Is going public everything?