The country’s share of regional venture capital funding devoted to fintech soared from just 0.4 percent in 2018, according to a report prepared by the United Overseas Bank (UOB), PwC and the Singapore Fintech Association (SFA). Indonesia was in third place.

The surge in investments in Vietnam this year is attributable to two large deals, both in digital payments. In July, digital payment firm VNpay received 300 million USD in investment from Japanese multinational conglomerate SoftBank and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC.

And in January, e-payment app MOMO Pay landed 100 million USD from investors led by American private equity firm Warburg Pincus. The two deals accounted for 98 percent of Vietnam’s total fintech funding in the first nine months.