FPT, SBI Holdings invest $3 million in blockchain startup

On April 17, 2019, in Tokyo, FPT Corporation (“FPT”) and SBI Holdings Inc. (“SBI”) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to invest $3 million dollars into joint venture Utop, a Vietnamese startup that bridges loyalty point programmes among merchants. Utop makes it easy and convenient for users to garner and redeem loyalty points at retailers within the same network, thereby enabling small businesses to grow faster.

Utop was developed based on FPT’s enterprise blockchain platform akaChain^TM, which has been implemented in many countries and across various sectors from finance, insurance, retail, to supply chain. Through partnership with Utop, small businesses could link their reward programms with each other to reduce costs and keep data secure thanks to the multi-layered architecture of akaChain platform. Utop also ensures high liquidity for end users by allowing them to redeem points at any merchants within the network. It helps improve discount and reward programs and, at the same time, enhances customer experiences.

Mr. Yoshitaka Kitao, SBI’s President and Chief Executive Officer said “SBI and FPT have cooperated effectively in many past years by leveraging the strengths of both sides. A majority of SBI’s companies in Vietnam are either invested or jointly operated by FPT through its subsidiaries such as FPT Securities, Sendo, or TP Bank. Based on FPT’s enterprise blockchain platform akaChain, its technology capabilities, as well as strong network of customers, I am completely positive that this is the best time to launch Utop. I hope it has lots of potential to grow”.

FPT Chairman, Dr. Truong Gia Binh, noted: “The development of industry 4.0 technologies has created break-through opportunities for businesses, mushrooming so many innovative business models. We call it digital transformation. FPT has defined digital transformation as our key strategy, accompanying our customers worldwide in their digital transformation journey, helping improve their business processes and leverage their position. Utop will play its part in growing thousands of Vietnamese businesses, bringing convenience and interesting shopping experiences for millions of Vietnamese consumers, thereby contributing to the development of Vietnam’s digital economy”.

According to Mr. Pham Nguyen Vu, co-founder and director of Utop, “this platform has been tested in FPT’s minimum viable ecosystem as well as sectors such as retail, insurance, and finance since last December. The funding from FPT and SBI would be a great kick start to help Utop solidify its foundation and take bolder steps in the future”.