Saigon Asset Management

Business Model

A Cross-Border Value Creation Platform

SAM combines investment, advisory, and open innovation to identify high-growth companies and leverage Vietnam's competitive advantages, including technology and R&D talent, manufacturing, capital, and access to Southeast Asian markets, to accelerate growth and build enterprise value. Our cross-border platform then connects these businesses with U.S. and global capital, strategic partners, and exit opportunities.

Business Model Overview

Built to invest, build, and connect

SAM creates value across the investment cycle through Investment, Advisory, and Open Innovation. We invest in priority sectors, supports founders and operators, and connects businesses with capital, partners, and international markets.

This integrated model combines local expertise with global networks, enabling SAM to deliver value beyond capital.

SAM business model overview
SAM investment platform

I. Investment

Venture capital, private equity, and fund management focused on Vietnam's growth sectors

Venture Capital

Private Equity

Fund Management

  • Vietnam Equity Holding (VEH, Private and Listed Equity)
  • Vietnam Property Holding (Real estate)
  • Vietnam Tech57 Fund (Tech/AI focused)

Funds Managed by Saigon Asset Management (SAM)

1

Vietnam Equity Holding (VEH, Private and Listed Equity)

VEH Private and Listed Equity Fund Overview

  • Fund Size: US$125 million
  • Inception: 2007 | Currently in wind-down (2026)
  • Investment Activity: 44 transactions across more than 40 public and private companies in Vietnam
  • Strategy: Broad, sector-diversified investment strategy across listed equities and private companies
  • Performance: Outperformed peer funds and key benchmark indices, including the VN-Index, MSCI Emerging Markets Index, and MSCI Frontier Markets Index
  • Top Investments: Generated IRRs ranging from 33% to 481%

Investment Strategy

VEH (Private and Listed Equity) invests in undervalued, high-quality companies with strong growth potential and seeks to unlock additional value through active involvement in strategy, operations, governance, and ESG.

The Fund focuses on businesses with experienced and ethical management teams, attractive valuations, including PEG and P/B multiples, and above-average revenue and earnings growth.

Governance Framework

  • Established a high standard of corporate governance relative to the Vietnam fund-management market
  • Majority of the Board of Directors bring significant corporate governance experience
  • Majority of Investment Committee members are based outside Vietnam, providing independent international perspective and oversight
Vietnam Equity Holding (VEH, Private and Listed Equity) logo
2

Vietnam Property Holding (VPH)

VPH Fund Overview

  • Fund Size: US$50 million
  • Inception: November 2007 | Merged into VEH (Private and Listed Equity) in June 2017
  • Investment Activity: 22 investments across listed and pre-IPO real estate companies in Vietnam
  • Strategy: Value-oriented investment strategy focused on undervalued real estate companies with significant land banks and attractive underlying asset values
  • Performance: Optimize returns and outperform Vietnam real estate benchmarks and peer funds
  • Status: Closed following its merger into Vietnam Equity Holding (VEH, Private and Listed Equity) in 2017

Investment Strategy

VPH invested in undervalued Vietnamese real estate companies with significant land banks, attractive underlying asset values, and strong value-creation potential.

The Fund combined investment analysis with property-development expertise to evaluate both company-level fundamentals and project-level factors, including development feasibility, land value, legal status, and execution potential.

Competitive Advantages

  • Direct access to chairmen, CEOs, and senior management at both the company and project levels
  • Ability to assess investment opportunities from both an investor and property developer perspective, providing deeper insight into project feasibility and underlying asset value
  • Deep local expertise in land compensation, resettlement, legal approvals, and other critical aspects of real estate development in Vietnam
Vietnam Property Holding logo
3

Vietnam Tech57 Fund (VT57)

VT57 Fund Overview

  • Target Fund Size: US$100 million
  • Strategy: Opportunistic, stage-agnostic investment strategy targeting high-growth technology and technology-enabled companies that can leverage Vietnam's competitive advantages to build and scale globally
  • Geographic Focus: Vietnam and international companies with a strategic Vietnam value-creation opportunity
  • Performance Objective: Target returns at or above blended Asia venture capital and private equity benchmarks
  • Status: Fundraising | Target first close Q4 2026

VT57 Investment Strategy

VT57 invests in high-growth technology and technology-enabled companies where Vietnam can serve as a strategic platform for accelerating growth and enhancing enterprise value.

The Fund is stage agnostic and opportunistic, allowing it to invest across the growth cycle where attractive risk-adjusted opportunities exist. This flexibility enables VT57 to back promising Vietnam-based companies with global potential as well as U.S. and international companies that can create significant value by establishing or expanding operations in Vietnam.

VT57 seeks to leverage Vietnam's competitive advantages - including technology and R&D talent, cost-efficient engineering, manufacturing capabilities, access to capital and incentives, and a rapidly growing Southeast Asian market - to help portfolio companies accelerate product development, improve operating economics, expand revenue, and scale internationally.

The Fund's cross-border value-creation model is designed to translate these advantages into higher enterprise value at the parent-company level, with the objective of ultimately accessing U.S. or comparable global capital markets, strategic buyers, and exit opportunities.

Competitive Advantages

  • Resolution 57 Tailwinds: Positioned to capitalize on the strategic direction, policy support, and incentives arising from Vietnam's Resolution 57 and the country's national priorities in science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation
  • Proprietary Cross-Border Deal Flow: Access to differentiated investment opportunities through SAM's network of successful serial entrepreneurs, technology executives, investors, and business leaders across Vietnam and Silicon Valley
  • Vietnam Value-Creation Platform: Ability to help portfolio companies access Vietnam's R&D and engineering talent, manufacturing ecosystem, capital and government incentives, corporate relationships, and Southeast Asian markets to accelerate growth and enhance enterprise value
  • Global Investment Ecosystem: Established relationships with global venture capital and private equity firms, founders, corporations, governments, universities, and innovation platforms supporting deal sourcing, due diligence, technology access, business development, value creation, follow-on financing, and exits
  • Vietnam-Silicon Valley Connectivity: On-the-ground presence and networks in both Ho Chi Minh City and Silicon Valley provide a bridge between Vietnam's competitive resources and the world's deepest technology, capital, and exit ecosystem

II. Advisory

SAM advises high-growth and industry-leading companies on capital raising, M&A, strategic partnerships, and international expansion. Through our cross-border network, we connect companies with global investors, corporations, development finance institutions, technology partners, and new markets to accelerate growth and create long-term enterprise value.

Capital Raising & M&A

SAM focuses on proprietary opportunities where our relationships, investment experience, and cross-border capabilities can add strategic value beyond the transaction itself.

Selected SAM advisory transactions

Strategic Capital

Identifying investors that provide not only capital, but also technology, market access, industry expertise, distribution, and other strategic capabilities. The participation of credible global investors can also validate a company's business model and strengthen its positioning with customers, partners, and future investors.

Development Finance Institution (DFI) Capital

Connecting companies and projects with international development finance institutions whose mandates align with Vietnam's economic and development priorities. We focus on opportunities where commercial returns can be combined with measurable impact, including sustainability, ESG, innovation, technology transfer, job creation, productivity, and improved livelihoods.

M&A & Strategic Transactions

Advising companies and shareholders on acquisitions, divestitures, strategic investments, joint ventures, and other transactions that accelerate growth, strengthen competitive positioning, or create liquidity.

Target Companies

SAM focuses on proprietary, high-growth and industry-leading companies where access to global capital, strategic investors, technology, and international markets can materially enhance growth and enterprise value.

III. Open Innovation

Global innovation. Local value creation.

Open Innovation extends SAM's platform beyond capital, connecting portfolio companies, corporations, and government partners with the technology and networks needed to innovate and scale. It functions as both a value-creation platform and an investment engine, generating proprietary access to emerging technologies, high-growth companies, and new investment opportunities.

Through our strategic partnership with Plug and Play, SAM brings global technology and innovation networks to Vietnam, while connecting Vietnamese companies with international markets, partners, and capital.

Diagram showing where Open Innovation fits the SAM model

AI Center of Excellence

From global technology to commercial deployment.

SAM and Plug and Play are developing an AI Center of Excellence in Vietnam. Unlike a traditional research lab, it is built for commercialization: corporations and government agencies define real-world challenges, the platform sources relevant technology globally, and validated solutions move toward deployment, investment, and scale.

Diagram showing how the AI Center of Excellence works

Why Vietnam. Why now.

Vietnam has made science, technology, innovation, AI, and digital transformation national priorities under Resolution 57-NQ/TW. Combined with a growing technology talent base, major corporations, universities, and a large domestic market, Vietnam has the foundations to become a significant regional AI and innovation hub. SAM connects these advantages with global technology, networks, and capital.

SAM × Plug and Play

Global network. Local execution.

This partnership gives Vietnamese companies a bridge to Plug and Play's global ecosystem, and gives international partners a trusted, on-the-ground presence in Vietnam.

Global technology access

A direct line to leading startups and technology through a worldwide innovation network

Corporate innovation

Matching that technology to challenges Vietnamese corporates and government agencies actually have

Venture investment

Proprietary co-investment and venture capital opportunities alongside Plug and Play

Global market access

A path for Vietnamese companies into international capital and markets

Invest, build, and connect with SAM

Whether through managed funds, platform development, or strategic capital advisory, SAM works with investors, founders, corporations, and strategic partners seeking access to high-growth opportunities in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.