MJ Group, a newly formed Vietnamese Internet player, announced last Friday it raised $60 million from national fund IDG Ventures as well as from Rebate Networks, a German investment company, and Ru-Net, a major Russian fund.
MJ Group is the result of a merger of four local Vietnamese Internet companies – e-commerce site Nhommua, location and navigation service provider Diadiem, mobile application provider Two.vn and online media company Two Media.
With a total of 500 employees in Ho-Chi-Minh City and Hanoi, MJ Group is the largest e-commerce employer in Vietnam, local information website Vietnam Plus reported in an exchange with MJ Group CEO Tom Tran. The staff is expected to double within the next 12 months.
The Vietnamese Internet market is reported to have a considerable growth potential, with a third of its 86 million people already connected to the Internet but an online advertising market of only $25 million, Russian business daily Vedomosti reported.
No less than two Russian players announced earlier this year the launch of search services on the Vietnamese market. The first one, Itim.vn – still undergoing testing – is an adaptation of Nigma.ru, a little known but innovative Russian search engine. The second one, developed by web consulting firm Ashmanov & partners in partnership with leading Russian financial group Finam and Kazakhstani real estate developer Kusto, is planned to be launched later this fall.
In addition, VimpelCom – a leading mobile operator in Russia and one of the world’s largest telecom groups – announced in April it would invest as much as $500 million in its Vietnamese subsidiary GTEL-Mobile and assume its operational management.
