Unlocking the potential of new investment channels in the digital era

Speaking at the second panel of VIR's seminar on managing investments in a flexible environment on July 14, Le Van Duong, partner at Indochine Counsel, pointed out the lack of a legal framework for the blockchain industry.

"Investors cannot set up a legal entity in Vietnam to do business in this field. Meanwhile, they have spent a large amount of money to apply for a license to open a foreign investment legal entity. However, it is very difficult to obtain a foreign investment license nowadays," Duong said.

"Despite the large scale of investment, it is impossible to collect taxes from market players. One good news is that Vietnam is considering a draft sandbox for blockchain and fintech activities. Hopefully, in a near future, blockchain businesses can officially establish a legal entity in Vietnam to raise capital, issue tokens, and generate revenue for players."

William Do, CEO of HOBBIT Investment said, "Investors have various interests and preferences for new investment channels, particularly those subject to the constant volatility in the economic market over the past few years. Due to the difference in the technology platform, these investment channels have become more ambiguous and difficult to access for the majority of traditional investors," he said.

Therefore, market leaders would play a crucial role in bridging the technological gap and facilitating traditional investors to join the market of these new investment channels.

Technology advancements and the rise of online payments, particularly during the most recent pandemic, have shown that this is the most prosperous period for personal investment channels.

A number of new investment channels have been established and refined by the market in addition to more traditional ones like real estate, securities, bonds, gold, and foreign currencies.

Besides the opportunities, these channels also bring some challenges for investors and businesses alike.

Commenting on this matter, Trinh Ngoc Duc, chairman of D.lion Media and Solutions said, "New investment opportunities will continually arise whether the market goes up or down. As a result of the rise of new opportunities, investors have to deal with disturbances of information in the market every day."

This would present a chance for official media outlets to speak up to help investors get more accurate information, he added.

"Meanwhile, this development also poses a significant challenge for businesses creating blockchain and financial products. Thus, they need to refine their information so that investors can access information more transparently."

In the same vein, Thai Viet Dung, commercial director of Exness Vietnam, said that the most crucial factor in the competition between financial organisations would be how much money is invested in technology and how they could employ automated algorithms to outperform their competitors.

"The battle now leans towards the decentralised model rather than the centralised one. As more and more people choose to trade online, there has been a soaring demand for user-friendly interfaces and security on trading apps. This is also the key rationale behind the idea that the future of the financial sector lies with mobile trading apps," Dung said.