IDG
Ventures Vietnam, Germany’s Rebate Networks and Ru-net of Russia announced
Wednesday their US$60 million investment agreement into MJ, a new business
group in Vietnam that promotes e-commerce.
(L-R) Rebate Networks CEO Michael Brehm,
Ru-net chairman Leonid Boguslavsky, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Information
and Communications director Le Thai Hy, MJ CEO Tom Tran and IDG Ventures
Vietnam general partner Rachan act to launch MJ Group Sep. 7.
The four sides announced the MJ Group
establishment and their investment at a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City.
IDG Ventures Vietnam general partner Rachan
Reddy, Rebate Networks CEO and founder Michael Brehm, Ru-net chairperson Leonid
Boguslavsky from Moscow, and MJ CEO Tom Tran signed their investment deal at
the MJ Group launch.
The American, German and Russian investors did
not announce their stake percentage in the online commerce platform.
“This is Ru-net’s first investment in Asia,”
Boguslavsky said, adding that his company saw clear potential from e-commerce
in Vietnam.
IDG Ventures Vietnam’s Reddy said, “This is a
significant day for MJ Group and the companies which it encompasses –
Nhommua.com and Diadiem.com.
“It’s also a milestone for Vietnam’s
e-commerce sector and the ICT community.
“As some of you may know, IDG Ventures has
been an early believer, supporter and investor in Vietnam and Vietnam’s
technology and media community. We believed in the opportunity in Vietnam and
also in the Government’s plan to prioritize, promote and build the sectors.
“We also believed very early in Tom [Tran],
his vision and his team.”
Rebate Networks CEO and founder Brehm said his
German company invested in innovative enterprises worldwide with a
concentration in Asia, Europe and South America.
Tran, meanwhile, announced the merger of
Nhommua.com and Diadiem.com to form MJ.
Diadiem.com is a leading location and
navigation services provider in Vietnam.
Nhommua.com is a popular online commerce
platform in the country
MJ also
includes Two.vn, a mobile applications company, and Two Media, an online
advertising expert.
The merged company now has nearly 500
employees in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, according to Tran, a
Vietnamese-American.
“I’m also glad to announce that we will
aggressively aim to hire at least 1,000 new employees within the next 12
months, not only in technical and management but also in administrative and
support functions.”
Nhommua’s chief operating officer David Tran
said that a merger could strongly boost the strengths of the sides interested.
“One plus one equals two in maths but could be more in a merger,” he said while
showing a slide with 1+1=3.
IDG Ventures Vietnam is the first technology
venture capital fund in Vietnam. Since 2004, IDG has been working with
entrepreneurs to grow innovative and market-leading companies. It currently has
$100 million under management, with investments in over 40 companies in the
technology, media, telecommunications, and consumer sectors.
Its anchor Limited Partner investor is
International Data Group (IDG), the world’s largest IT media company.
Source: SGGP
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