<article>The Vietnamese government is looking to come out with a policy framework to encourage the establishment of investment funds in technology, a government report said Tuesday.</article>

The Vietnamese government is looking to come out with a policy framework to encourage the establishment of investment funds in technology, a government report said Tuesday.
Specifically, Vietnam has directed its ministries of science and technology, finance, investment and justice, to review and evaluate the creation of securities investment funds in the hi-tech and new technologies space.
In addition, the ministries will have to submit a plan to set up a technology development fund in March. “The Ministry of Planning and Investment will be the lead among these agencies to add new regulations that promote the development of technologies within small businesses, as a part of the coming law on supporting small and medium-sized companies,” the report said.
This move of the government is in response to a request by the local Ministry of Science and Technology in November last year to launch incentives for venture capital firms.
Meanwhile, the country had earlier issued a decree guiding the implementation of the new investment law, which sees the ICT sector, including technology companies and incubation and venture capital activities, as areas that enjoy “special investment privileges”.
As part of the norms, overseas investors are not required to go through the procedures for issuance of certification of investment registration, if they buy less than 51 per cent in local companies.
In addition, Vietnam will also offer preferences for tariffs and land use for the ICT industry. However, experts allege that these preferences are not practical for startups, who might not be profitable within the first five years of business to pay tax, and might not need much space to host their small teams.
However, it is still an exciting development as the government has started to pay attention to the local startup community.
Also read: <a href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/policy-support-angel-networks-replication-of-global-models-key-enablers-for-vietnam-startups-18081/">Policy support, angel networks &amp; replication of global models key enablers for Vietnam startups</a>
<a href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/no-vc-fund-no-startup-ecosystem-tech-minister-quan-tells-vietnams-national-assembly-19972/">No VC fund, no startup ecosystem, Tech minister Quan tells Vietnam’s National Assembly</a>
Global enterprises and investors are looking at the Vietnamese burgeoning startup scene as an attractive place for investment, taking into account its talent pool and consumption power.
Investments in startups might have increased, but it is still modest compared to other regions, mostly due to the shortage of legal support that hinders VCs from rolling out their play.
Lacking VC funds meant Vietnam was still far away from having an ecosystem, as opined by minister of science and technology Nguyen Quan. In order to persuade the government to improve the investment scene, Quan had proposed to review the legal draft for SME support towards creating more advantages for startups and VCs.
Prior to that, a group of Vietnamese startups and angel investors met with Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, who was then very determined to help build a strong ecosystem.
Also read: <a href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/government-promises-policy-support-financial-help-for-incorporated-in-vietnam-startups-10391/">Hanoi to bankroll ‘incorporated-in-Vietnam’ startups to kickstart tech ecosystem</a>
A spate of regional and global VC investors have visited to Vietnam through multiple events within the last couple of years. However, most of the funds were there to learn the opportunities rather than making actual funding.
<a href="http://idgvv.com.vn/en/">IDG Ventures Vietnam</a> and <a href="https://www.cyberagentventures.com/">Cyberagent Ventures</a> are the two VCs with the most number of portfolio firms while players who have turned active in the region recently include <a href="http://500.co/">500 Startups</a>, <a href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=captii+ventures">Captii Ventures</a> and <a href="http://goldengate.vc/">Golden Gate Ventures</a>.  Vietnam also has several homegrown VCs or VC-like entities, including <a href="http://fptventures.com/">FPT Ventures</a>, <a href="http://seedforaction.com/">SeedForAction</a> and <a href="http://alphavision.vn/">Alpha Vision Ventures</a>.
Also read: <a href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/vietnams-startup-ecosystem-attracting-fresh-vc-interest-12241/">Vietnam’s startup ecosystem attracting fresh VC interest</a>
<a href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/vietnam-2015-startups-have-access-to-more-dry-powder-with-new-fund-launches-22958/">Vietnam 2015: Startups have access to more dry powder with new fund launches</a>
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The Vietnamese government is looking to come out with a policy to encourage the establishment of investment funds in technology, a government report said on Tuesday.

Vietnam working on policy push to build VC ecosystem to fund tech startups

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