- IDGVV Press Releases
IDG Ventures Vietnam invests in Muaban.net
Ho Chi Minh City, July 17, 2008
On the occasion of the annual visit to Vietnam of IDG’s Founder & Chairman – Mr Patrick McGovern, Mua Ban Joint Stock Company (MBN) announces its strategic partnership with IDG Ventures Vietnam.
MBN operates the popular classified website Muaban.net, enjoyed by more than one million buyers and sellers monthly. With backing from IDG Ventures Vietnam, MBN is positioned to leverage the online ecosystem and communities of other IDGVV portfolio companies to expand its user reach.
At the press conference, the company also announces the launching of MBN Mobile, which allows consumers to post classifieds via SMS, and SinhVien.Muaban.net, an online classified and discount marketplace designed for college students. In the coming months, the company will deploy many other new classified products that will continue to expand MBN’s reach in both print, online, and other forms of media.
“Our everyday task at Muaban.net is simple yet challenging: to help sellers to advertise their products to the largest market of possible buyers, and to give buyers the opportunity to have access to the largest market of sellers and their goods. We believe our users have the inherent capability to market a product or service to many others, therefore we work hard to give them the informational tools to help C2C transactions happen quickly, cheaply, and effectively,” says Mr. Pham Hop Pho, MBN’s Managing Director. “With IDGVV’s strategic support, we are further empowered to build a seamless classified platform on which users can post anything, from anywhere, and reach any audiences.”
Mr. Nguyen Bao Hoang, Managing General Partner of IDG Ventures adds, “We are extremely happy to be able to work with and to support the company with its continuing rapid growth. Our team has the utmost enthusiasm and confidence towards MBN to execute its goal, to makes its services more valuable and accessible to buyers and sellers of all kinds of products throughout all of the country. The company is a good example of how the internet and new technology can be applied to improve and change the way people interact and exchange information.”
In addition to investment capital, IDG Ventures Vietnam will work closely with the company to help guide long-term strategy and business development. MBN is one of several investments the Fund has made in e-commerce and related retail sectors.
Information about MuaBan.net:
Muaban.net (MBN) is an online classifieds company. With more than 20,000 new listings on Muaban.net everyday, users can find almost everything people are selling or looking to buy: cars, real estate, pets, motorbikes, jobs and other services, and other hard-to-find goods. In addition to online services, Muaban.net users can also access new listings daily from the popular Mua & Ban classified, the company’s offline content partner.
For quality assurance, MBN content staff screens through each listing to make sure it is of good nature, as well as editing thousands of SMS listings weekly. Depending on users’ listing preference, each Muaban.net classified can get maximum exposure throughout MBN’s network of online websites, daily print classifieds, and mobile listing services.
The company’s slogan is “Mua May, Bán Đắt”, which translates loosely as “Buy Low, Sell High”. The company’s logo is an orange square encompassing two halves of an arrow. One half signifies the “Buy” side, and the other signifies for the “Sell” side. The space between two halves of the arrow symbolizes money-saving, as it is shaped after the coin slot on the piggy-bank, a common household item in Vietnam.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Ha Thanh Tam, Chief Operating Officer
R4, 44-45 Hưng Phước 1, Lê Văn Thêm Avenue,
Tân Phong Ward, District 7, HCMC
Tel: (08) 4126886 ; Fax: (08) 4103366
Website: www.muaban.net
Email: tam.ha@muaban.net
About IDG Ventures Vietnam
IDG Ventures is a global network of venture capital funds with over $3 billion under management and a portfolio of over 300 companies built over the last 15 years. The IDG Ventures network is comprised of six independent partnerships managing funds in North America and Asia. Each partnership makes investments on behalf of its limited partner investors, including International Data Group (IDG), the world’s largest IT media company. By combining the IDG platform – an unparalleled combination of global publishing, market research (IDC), and conferences and exhibition resources – with years of hands-on experience in the early-stage of the company building, each IDG Ventures fund helps companies to understand their markets better and to penetrate them faster than their competition.
With venture capital funds in Boston, San Francisco, India, Korea, China, and Vietnam, the IDG Ventures network offers the international perspective and the local market expertise to help companies grow from start-ups to global success. Previous investments by the firm include Tencent, Home Inns, F5 Networks, Netscape, Spinner.com, VA Linux, and Baidu.com.
Founded in 2004, IDG Ventures Vietnam (IDGVV) is the first US technology venture capital fund in Vietnam. With $100 million under management, IDGVV invests primarily in privately-held, early to middle-stage technology, media, and telecom companies in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. The Fund works closely with the diverse, high growth companies in its portfolio and provides deep support to its entrepreneurs. IDG Ventures Vietnam has invested in a diverse portfolio of leading technology firms including: VinaGame, VinaPay, iSphere, Goldsun Focus Media, Vega, VCcorp, Peacesoft, MSS, and YeuAmNhac.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Duong Thu Huong – PR & Operations Director
SunWah Tower, Suite 1108
115 Nguyen Hue St., District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tel: +84 8 827 8888
Fax: +84 8 827 8899
Website: www.idgvv.com.vn/en
Email: thuhuong_duong@idgvv.com.vn/en