(Bloomberg) — Vietnam’s M_Service JSC, which operates Warburg Pincus LLC-backed fintech app MoMo, sees growth in the nation’s rural areas and has no plans for international expansion, said co-founder Nguyen Manh Tuong, who is also vice chairman and co-chief executive officer.
Many rural residents need to travel as far as 40 kilometers to pay bills, making MoMo’s payment service increasingly attractive in farming communities, Tuong said on Bloomberg TV’s ASEAN Ahead segment. In fact, about 40% of its users live outside the nation’s big cities, such as Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, he said.
The company has no immediate plans for an initial public offering and is instead focused on expanding its services, Tuong said. “We are discussing different options but we don’t have a final plan right now,” he said.
The startup, which crossed $2 billion in valuation after raising about $200 million from investors led by Mizuho Bank in December, has no intentions to expand beyond Vietnam’s borders for now, Tuong said.
Mizuho’s investment reflected Southeast Asia’s booming internet economy that is set to double to $363 billion by 2025, according to research from Google, Temasek Holdings Pte and Bain & Co.
MoMo began in 2010 as a SIM-card application that allowed people to transfer money and buy mobile top-up and game scratch cards. In 2014, it started a smartphone e-wallet that has expanded into a super app with an array of services, including processing insurance payments, donations and providing an investment marketplace.
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