Shinhan Financial Group and Grab Vietnam sign strategic partnership agreement

Shinhan Financial Group in Vietnam and Grab Vietnam have joined forces in Vietnam

Shinhan Financial Group (SFG) in Vietnam and Grab Co., Ltd. (Grab Vietnam) have officially announced the signing of their comprehensive strategic partnership to jointly contribute to the development of the startup ecosystem in Vietnam and to promote multi-business collaboration between the two parties, including financial services business. The MOU signing is also a landmark for the potential business synergies between SFG in Vietnam and Grab Vietnam in the future.

Within the scope of this partnership agreement, senior leaders from Grab Vietnam and Grab Ventures Ignite will participate as corporate mentors in the Shinhan Future’s Lab Vietnam 20-21 Open Innovation for Startup Programme, which supports startups to grow faster by connecting them with large corporations such as all subsidiaries of SFG in Vietnam, Grab Vietnam, CJ Group Vietnam, Savills Vietnam, and VinaCapital Ventures for private mentoring and potential business collaborations.

The startups will be chosen from various sectors such as fintech, retail and e-commerce, foodtech and agriculture, proptech, edtech, and healthcare. Concurrently, SFG in Vietnam and Grab Vietnam are committed to work towards a shared strategic vision for the development of the Vietnamese startup ecosystem with authorities and large enterprises in Vietnam and their global partner network.

At the same time, both sides will promote digital transformation in Vietnam, through a business cooperation to deploy the financial products and services of SGF in Vietnam on Grab Vietnam’s platform. Some intended projects in the pipeline for further discussion include opening accounts at Shinhan Bank through the Grab app and SFG providing digital loan programmes for Grab’s users in Vietnam.

Shin Dong Min, CEO of Shinhan Financial Group in Vietnam said, “This partnership demonstrates the common vision of both companies to create an advanced service environment through digital innovation of SFG in Vietnam and Grab Vietnam, to build a new win-win and innovative model through direct support to local startup ecosystems as a large company, and to present a new paradigm for both corporations and the startup ecosystem in Vietnam."

Nguyen Thai Hai Van, managing director of Grab in Vietnam shared, “As Southeast Asia's first decacorn, we have the responsibility to further grow the startup ecosystem in Vietnam and across the region. We are doing this through Grab Ventures Ignite, an accelerator programme exclusively designed to build capability for early-stage startups in Vietnam. With the collaboration with SFG, we aim to continue to pave the way for even more Vietnamese startups to rise and achieve success. Moreover, this strategic partnership will also enable both companies to tap into Vietnam’s vast mass market opportunity, providing better financial services and products in order to make financial inclusion accessible to all Vietnamese.”

In the long-term, Grab Vietnam and SFG in Vietnam will jointly deploy innovative ideas and expand global networks. By expanding the global network, Grab and SFG in Vietnam wish to take advantage of the current resources from both sides, in order to provide customers with a better experience and more utilities, at the same time contributing to the digital transformation in Vietnam.