Key Takeaways
- • Touchstone Partners, the Vietnam International Financial Centre in Ho Chi Minh City (VIFC-HCMC) and Ho Chi Minh City Venture Investment Fund JSC (HCM VIF) have agreed to form a blended-finance co-investment fund with committed capital of up to $100 million.
- • Touchstone and HCM VIF are each expected to contribute up to $50 million within the next five years, according to the announcement.
- • VIFC-HCMC will act as coordinating body, providing access to regulatory sandboxes, pilot programmes, licensing, and investment incentives, and connecting portfolio companies with government agencies and public-sector customers.
- • The fund targets seed-to-growth-stage technology companies in AI-enabled education and healthcare, biotechnology and life sciences, and renewables and climate resilience.
- • The vehicle works toward a fund-of-funds mechanism, which Truong Minh Huy Vu, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and Chairman of VIFC-HCMC, says will connect investment funds and bring more resources into the startup ecosystem.
Summary
Touchstone Partners, a local early-stage venture capital firm, has agreed with VIFC-HCMC and HCM VIF to set up a blended-finance co-investment fund with committed capital of up to $100 million. Touchstone and HCM VIF are each expected to contribute up to $50 million within the next five years, according to an announcement. Touchstone describes the arrangement as a pioneering public-private co-investment model in Vietnam.
The structure is designed to help international investors manage investment risk while benefiting from Vietnam's investment policies. HCM VIF, described as Ho Chi Minh City's first venture capital fund with direct state budget participation alongside private-sector shareholders, will provide matching domestic capital. HCM VIF was launched in April 2026 with initial charter capital of 500 billion dong ($19.5 million), 40% from the city budget and 60% from private shareholders, and targets a tenfold expansion in size by 2035. Its private founding shareholders include Sovico Group, Vingroup, Becamex, VinaCapital, Sunwah Group (Vietnam), VNG Corporation, CT Group, Hoa Sen Group, and FPT Corporation.
VIFC-HCMC will serve as coordinating body, facilitating investment structures within the VIFC framework, supporting access to regulatory sandboxes, pilot programmes, licensing and administrative procedures, and applicable incentives. It will also connect portfolio companies with government agencies, public-sector customers, infrastructure providers, industrial zones and strategic partners so that new technologies can be tested, commercialised and scaled.
The programme will focus on seed-to-growth-stage technology companies in AI-enabled innovation for education, healthcare, manufacturing and SME transformation; biotechnology and life sciences; and renewables and climate resilience. The initiative builds on a strategic cooperation agreement signed earlier this year between VIFC-HCMC, Touchstone Partners and Temasek Foundation. Truong Minh Huy Vu said the partnership "goes beyond providing capital," with the fund set to research, develop products, build business models and establish a co-investment mechanism. Tran Huu Dung, Chairman of HCM VIF, said the partnership offers a strategic way to deploy public capital by drawing on seasoned technology investors and the networks of HCM VIF's shareholders.
The structure is designed to help international investors manage investment risk while benefiting from Vietnam's investment policies. HCM VIF, described as Ho Chi Minh City's first venture capital fund with direct state budget participation alongside private-sector shareholders, will provide matching domestic capital. HCM VIF was launched in April 2026 with initial charter capital of 500 billion dong ($19.5 million), 40% from the city budget and 60% from private shareholders, and targets a tenfold expansion in size by 2035. Its private founding shareholders include Sovico Group, Vingroup, Becamex, VinaCapital, Sunwah Group (Vietnam), VNG Corporation, CT Group, Hoa Sen Group, and FPT Corporation.
VIFC-HCMC will serve as coordinating body, facilitating investment structures within the VIFC framework, supporting access to regulatory sandboxes, pilot programmes, licensing and administrative procedures, and applicable incentives. It will also connect portfolio companies with government agencies, public-sector customers, infrastructure providers, industrial zones and strategic partners so that new technologies can be tested, commercialised and scaled.
The programme will focus on seed-to-growth-stage technology companies in AI-enabled innovation for education, healthcare, manufacturing and SME transformation; biotechnology and life sciences; and renewables and climate resilience. The initiative builds on a strategic cooperation agreement signed earlier this year between VIFC-HCMC, Touchstone Partners and Temasek Foundation. Truong Minh Huy Vu said the partnership "goes beyond providing capital," with the fund set to research, develop products, build business models and establish a co-investment mechanism. Tran Huu Dung, Chairman of HCM VIF, said the partnership offers a strategic way to deploy public capital by drawing on seasoned technology investors and the networks of HCM VIF's shareholders.
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