MoMo hires Jefferies and Morgan Stanley — capital restructuring at a $2 billion-plus valuation, groundwork laid ahead of a possible IPO

Vietnam's largest fintech, MoMo (M_Service), is exploring bringing in new strategic and financial investors at a valuation of more than $2 billion. The company has hired U.S. investment banks Jefferies and Morgan Stanley as lead advisors and has begun preliminary discussions with interested investors. The super-app, with more than 30 million users, turned profitable in 2024, and this could be its biggest capital event since the $200 million round led by Mizuho Bank in 2021. While an IPO has fallen off the near-term agenda, the "groundwork" of optimizing its capital structure and bringing in overseas investors ahead of a future listing has begun.

News details

According to reports from Reuters affiliate Yahoo Finance and TechStartups, MoMo is considering "a share sale at a valuation of more than $2 billion" as one of its strategic options. Specific possibilities include a partial exit for existing shareholders, growth capital raising, and a minority stake acquisition by a strategic investor. Jefferies and Morgan Stanley were hired "in response to interest from multiple strategic and financial investors." Discussions are at an early stage, and a deal is not guaranteed to be reached. MoMo's previous major round was in December 2021, led by Mizuho Bank, raising $200 million and reaching a $2 billion valuation at the time.

Background

Vietnam's digital payments market is projected by Bain's e-Conomy SEA report to reach $178 billion in transaction value in 2025 and expand to $300-400 billion by 2030. MoMo has evolved to lead this growth as a "financial super-app" bundling payments, microloans, insurance, savings, investments, and merchant tools. Meanwhile, competitors such as VNPay (QR-code-led payments), ZaloPay (under VNG), Shopee Pay, emerging player Cake by VPBank, and the Circle Asia x Visa x Pismo alliance touting AI-based credit scoring are all rising, and user acquisition competition has entered its next phase. MoMo secured full-year profitability in 2024, and as one of the few Vietnamese fintechs with viable unit economics, it is drawing increasing attention from overseas investors.

MoMo's current standing by the numbers (converted at 1 JPY = 170 VND, 1 USD = 150 JPY)

Industry and local reaction

TechStartups analyzed that "the very fact that MoMo gave the mandate to two major firms, Jefferies and Morgan Stanley, rather than boutique advisors, suggests this deliberation is close to a roadshow stage."Yahoo Finance / Reuters cited local sources saying "MoMo pulled its 2025 IPO, but it has only taken it off the near-term agenda, not abandoned it."DealStreetAsia reports have raised the prospect that "Japanese players other than Mizuho, Singapore's sovereign funds GIC and Temasek, and PE majors such as Warburg Pincus are showing interest." Meanwhile, within Vietnam's fintech community, cautious voices are also heard, saying "competition from ZaloPay and VNPay is fierce, and maintaining a $2 billion valuation will require revenue pillars beyond retail remittances."

What this means for Japanese companies and readers

Mizuho Bank is already a major shareholder as the lead investor in the 2021 round, so this capital restructuring involves both dilution risk for Mizuho and a decision on whether to invest further. For Japanese banks, card companies, SBI-affiliated financial groups, insurers, and securities firms, MoMo's merchant network (hundreds of thousands of SMEs) and customer data draw attention as a "sales channel" for cross-border payments, credit, and insurance sales. If companies such as JCB, Sumitomo Mitsui Card, and SMBC Nikko Securities can build use cases for "cross-selling financial products from payments," it could become a bridgehead for their ASEAN push. Meanwhile, competitor VNPay involves Sumitomo Mitsui, ZaloPay involves Tencent via VNG, and Cake by VPBank involves VPBank and SMBC Consumer Finance, among others, so it is worth noting that "Japanese players remain spread across multiple fintechs."

Ripple Effects on the Industry

MoMo maintaining a $2 billion valuation will reaffirm the valuation benchmark for Vietnamese fintech as a whole. VNPay already achieved a $1 billion valuation in 2021, but information on additional fundraising in recent years has been limited, so the valuation level MoMo leads will function as a comparison benchmark. In super-app competition, Grab (payments via GrabPay), Shopee (ShopeePay), and TikTok (TikTok Shop) are each trying to absorb payments starting from e-commerce, ride-hailing, and content, and MoMo needs to differentiate itself as a "finance-focused super-app." If a PE investor comes in as a new investor, a review of the cost structure (curbing marketing and subsidies) and revenue diversification (wealth management, insurance brokerage) are expected to accelerate. Depending on how the central bank SBV moves on e-money regulation and stricter KYC, license restructuring or M&A could also come into view.

Practical Information

Conclusion

MoMo's hiring of Jefferies and Morgan Stanley reads less as simple fundraising and more as "optimizing its capital structure ahead of a possible IPO." Vietnam's largest super-app, armed with a track record of 30 million users and profitability in 2024, has entered a phase of formally courting overseas growth investors. For Japanese financial institutions and businesses, decisions on additional investment, strategic reassessment of competing fintechs, and designing cross-selling through the merchant network will all need to be made by this summer. Cake by VPBank's entry into cross-border remittances and Circle Asia x Visa x Pismo's AI-based credit scoring and other major developments are worth continuing to follow.

Reference links

• TechStartups — Vietnam fintech startup MoMo eyes $2B+ valuation
• Yahoo Finance / Reuters — Vietnam’s MoMo weighs options including new investors
• India Marketing — MoMo recruits strategic investors at a valuation of more than $2 billion
• India Marketing — Ho Chi Minh City launches a fintech hub

Related article: MoMo recruits strategic investors at a valuation of more than $2 billion ／ Cake by VPBank opens GlobalX to the public ／ Circle Asia x Visa x Pismo AI-based credit scoring