VPBank Securities (VPBankS), a division of Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank), has contributed 739.5 billion dong (US $30.3 million) to Be Group, the Vietnamese tech company that created the multiservice consumer platform Be.
With the completion of this month’s deal, VPBankS now owns a minority share in Be Holdings, the Be Group’s parent company. By doing this, VPBankS also becomes the first institutional investor in the Be Group.
The Be platform, a rival to the popular app Grab, offers over 15 services, including fintech, delivery, and transportation. By 2023, the company will have facilitated over 120 million rides in collaboration with over 300,000 drivers.
With this investment, Be—which plans to turn a profit on an equity basis in 2024—is also able to benefit from VPBankS’s capital market connections and corporate management experience.
Green and Smart Mobility (GSM), the taxi services company founded by Vingroup founder Pham Nhat Vuong which specializes in electric vehicles, is another significant investor in Be Group. Customers can reserve beCar and beTaxi on the Be platform, as well as GSM’s electric taxi service, as part of the March 2023 agreement.
