Japan’s Sojitz invests in Vietnam cashless payment firm Finviet

Japanese conglomerate Sojitz Corporation has invested an undisclosed amount in Finviet Technology Corporation, a software as a service (SaaS) company in Vietnam that provides cashless payment smartphone apps and an online ordering platform for small retail stores.

In a Friday announcement, Sojitz said Finviet’s app can improve convenience for distributors and consumers with an online ordering platform that seamlessly connects the entire supply chain, from manufacturers to wholesalers/retailers and consumers, along with functions such as cashless payments and loans.

Finviet is building a manufacturer-to-consumer (M2C) model to develop the supply chain through the introduction of an online ordering platform that leverages data and digitalizes the current distribution network for transporting products from manufacturers to wholesalers/retailers and then consumers, according to Sojitz’s statement.

In 2022, Finviet launched its leading ECO Merchant app, which makes it possible for previous brick-and-mortar retailers to place orders on the app for a wide range of product offerings and to easily confirm order information and shipping status online. The ECO Merchant app has been installed by over 30,000 stores, primarily across major cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the Japanese conglomerate said.

Finviet is the only licensed non-bank payment service provider in the country that offers retailers the option to receive funding through bank loans and use online payment in lieu of past cash payments when ordering products from manufacturers and wholesalers, Sojitz added.

Sojitz also highlighted that in 2023, Vietnam’s population surpassed 100 million people, and the growth rate of the retail market is expected to exceed 10% by 2027. While some of Vietnam’s supermarkets and convenience stores operate multiple stores, family-owned businesses account for approximately 900,000 stores, or 80% of the total retail market.

Many of these small-scale retail stores place product orders manually, thus there is room to improve business efficiency.

Sojitz affirmed it would continue to focus on enhancing the purchasing power of Vietnam’s consumers and developing value chains for manufacturing, distribution, and retail.

In November 2023, Sojitz Corporation and its subsidiaries, Sojitz Asia Pte. Ltd. and Sojitz Vietnam Company Ltd., acquired full ownership of Dai Tan Viet JSC (New Viet Dairy), a major food wholesaler in Vietnam. Sojitz aimed to utilize New Viet Dairy’s sales network to promote sales of marine food products of MF Vietnam Ltd, under Sojitz subsidiary The Marine Foods Corporation.

In July 2023, Sojitz Corporation said it would build a new logistics warehouse to expand its four-temperature cold chain business in Vietnam. The new warehouse will ensure room temperature, fixed (between 10 and 25 Celsius degrees), refrigerated (zero to 10 Celsius degrees), and frozen (minus 25 to zero Celsius degrees).

With a total area of 5.8 hectares, the facility has a storage capacity of 39,000 pellets and can house about 70 trucks. The warehouse is about 30 kilometers from inner Ho Chi Minh City, or approximately a one-hour drive.