Vietnamese ride-hailing startup Be Group announced that it has secured a loan facility of approximately US$60 million from Deutsche Bank with the option to increase the financing up to US$100 million.
Be Group said that it will use the funds to fuel its expansion plans. The loan facility will also be utilised to ramp up its main services which include its ride-hailing, food delivery services as well as its digital bank arm Cake which was launched in partnership with VPBank.
The firm said that it is aiming to roll out a consumer lending product with instant approvals that will be co-branded with the digital bank.
Bloomberg reported that Be Group raised the funds in a move to further challenge its rival Grab, a Southeast Asia ride-hailing app. Research firm Statista says that in early 2020, Grab had dominated about a 75% of the ride-hailing market share in the country.
Launched in 2018, Be claims that it has amassed over 20 million app downloads and currently operates in 28 provinces and cities.
Vu Hoang Yen
Vu Hoang Yen, CEO of Be Group said,
“This partnership with Deutsche Bank confirms the acknowledgement of the results and prospects of the business model Be Group is pursuing while also meeting top-notch global financial standards.
With the mobilised loan capital, along with the sustainable growth orientation and the vision of our current investors, despite the enormous challenging competition landscape, I believe that we at Be Group are well inspired and supported to strive to materialise our medium and long-term ambition as a local champion tech company.”
Sreenivasan Iyer
Sreenivasan Iyer, Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking Coverage Southeast Asia and Financing Origination China and India at Deutsche Bank said,
“We are delighted to be working with Be Group. Deutsche Bank has been present in Vietnam for over 30 years, and such transactions further demonstrate the bank’s unwavering commitment to our clients in this country.
As Vietnam’s economy continues to thrive, we see many opportunities to partner with our clients to support their growth. We are proud to play a role in Vietnam’s growth story.”
Featured image credit: Vietnam Investment Review
