Investors keen on Vietnamese proptech platforms

Metain, the first co-investment platform based on blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in Vietnam, has entered into a partnership with venture capital firm IDG Capital. The tie-up is expected to foster the development of NFT real estate and attract more global investors to invest in Vietnam proptech empowered by blockchain technology.

The current valuation of Metain's equity seed round by IDG Capital Vietnam is $12 million. IDG has already committed $1.8 million to Metain.

Last Friday, Metain made its public launch in Vietnam, intending to expand its decentralised financial presence in the country. The launch marked its efforts to provide the most secure experience for investors and make real estate investment more accessible to global retail investors.

Nhan Tran, co-Founder of Metain, said, “Traditional real estate investment is inherently an attractive investment market but exclusively for the rich club, with high entry barriers of capital and high potential fraud. Thus, with blockchain and NFT technology, we want to bring equal, cross-border, affordable, transparent and safe investment opportunities to everyone.”

This blockchain-powered proptech startup has so far entered into partnerships with several foreign partners, including Deloitte, CBRE, Avalanche, DN Legal, Morgan Lewis, Ephelia and Quid Global Bank.

These global and dependable partners will operate as a part of Metain's business model following the real estate investment trust (REIT) structure. Accordingly, the business model ensures investors will always be able to receive their money back, even in the worst situations, with capital gains proportional to the market price.

By combining the REIT framework with NFT and blockchain technologies, the startup allows clients to invest $10 in real-world high-quality assets and earn a 15-25 per cent annual yield.

The Metain REIT NFT is among the most secured asset-backed NFTs, which has become a reliable high-yield shelter for investors in a high-risk crypto world.

Morgan Krupetsky, a representative of Avalanche blockchain platform, said, “Metain is a key partner for us in our mission to grow network adoption in the region and around the world. We are focusing on bringing real estate investing on-chain. Thus, the startup is a critical piece to bringing real-world assets and real-world utility to the world of decentralised finance. It will open up greater and more diverse opportunities for investors and greater sources of capital for companies.”

As reported by Tech in Asia, Singapore-based property platform 99 Group is exploring options to purchase proptech startup Propzy. The Vietnamese proptech startup is one of a dozen potential targets in Southeast Asia for the group, signalling its intention to expand after raising $37 million in a funding round led by Gaw Capital.

Not only foreign investors, but local venture capital funds and companies are also invested in Vietnam’s emerging proptech industry.

In June, Vietnamese protech startup Houze raised $2 million of funding led by DKRA Group. Houze is also closing an additional fund with venture capital to launch several new products.

Likewise, Reti, another Vietnam-based property tech startup, raised a seed round from investment funds CyberAgent Capital and VIC Partners in April. The startup said it logged a total transaction value of $130 million in 2020 and expanded the number of its real estate centres across the country.

According to a report by Research and Markets, Vietnam’s proptech market is projected to grow significantly during 2022-2027. The market growth can be attributed to the growing adoption of emerging technology and rising internet penetration in the country.

In recent years, many protech startups have emerged, trying to navigate the real estate industry more efficiently and make it easier for people involved. Advancements in cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc., are aiding the development of smart houses and buildings, which is propelling the growth of Vietnam’s proptech market.

“There is a huge opportunity for platforms that provide transparent and reliable information because this data enables developers and investors to make informed decisions,” said Giang Huynh, associate director of S22M, the advisory services of Savills Vietnam.

“As real estate is considered a key investment channel in Vietnam, there is enormous potential for proptech. As Vietnam’s property market is diverse, with active residential, commercial, industrial, and hospitality markets, the application of proptech is equally wide."

Pandemic pushes proptech development to new highs Despite the COVID-19 pandemic rocking the boat, proptech startups are moving to provide multi-functional services to meet the increasing demand for online and remote trading and also receive new investments.

Investments are flowing into proptech As a growing number of companies in the real estate industry are embracing technology to promote their sales since the pandemic, investments are flowing into proptech start-ups to capture the opportunity.

Core products being altered with proptech The property technology market is attracting capital and gradually occupying a new position in the global real estate market. Now, Vietnam’s market may have the chance to thrive with the application of more tech in various areas.