Once considered a symbol of Vietnamese technology startups, Mr. Nguyen Hoa Binh (Shark Binh) - Chairman of NextTech Group has just been prosecuted by the Investigation Police Agency of Hanoi City Police for two crimes of "Fraudulent appropriation of property" and "Violating accounting regulations causing serious consequences".
The prosecution decisions were carried out on October 10, along with 9 other related individuals.
Brilliant startup and Vietnamese technology dream
Shark Binh was born in 1981 in Hanoi. In 2001, he started a business in the technology field with Hoa Binh Software Solutions Joint Stock Company (PeaceSoft). Initially, the company operated in the field of enterprise software, then switched to e-commerce in 2005 - almost still in its early stages in Vietnam at that time.
After only three years of establishment, PeaceSoft is valued at about 6 million USD, helping Shark Binh own an estimated asset of more than 2 million USD - a dream number for a young entrepreneur in the early 2000s. From "Dien Tu Market" - one of the first e-commerce platforms - Mr. Binh quickly became known as the pioneer of the new wave of technology.
But as e-commerce enters a period of fierce competition, with the rise of Lazada, Shopee and the withdrawal of eBay, PeaceSoft's first projects are gradually losing market share.
Comprehensive restructuring and strong development of the NextTech ecosystem
In 2013, Shark Binh restructured the entire system, renaming PeaceSoft to Future Technology Investment and Development Company Limited, later NextTech Group Joint Stock Company.
NextTech expands strongly to four pillars: Financial technology (fintech), e-commerce, electronic logistics and education - society. According to the published information, the group has invested in about 20 enterprises, building a closed ecosystem with great influence in the market.
In the fintech segment, NextTech invests in prominent projects such as the Ngan Luong payment portal, Vimo e-wallet, AlePay payment platform, mPOS system and NextPay. In particular, Ngan Luong is considered the "golden apple", established on September 10, 2012 with a charter capital of VND 52.7 billion, after many increases in capital, it has at one point reached nearly VND 370 billion. However, by January 2024, the charter capital decreased to the original level of VND 52.7 billion.
In the field of e-commerce, NextTech invests in Bot Ban Hang, Cnvloyalty, Coolmate, Ladipage, Myspa; logistics includes Boxme, HeyU, FastGo; and education - society includes TopCV, Schola, Tick.com.
However, of the more than 20 projects that have been launched, many brands have stopped operating or disappeared such as Shipchung.vn, Weshop, ChoDien Tu.vn; some others have been operating at a low level, with only a few projects maintaining their position in the market.
When the risk of gambling comes with fame
In the midst of the investment expansion period, Mr. Nguyen Hoa Binh attracted attention when entering the field of blockchain - a playground with many opportunities but also full of risks.
In 2021, through the Next100Blockchain fund, he announced an investment of 2.5 million USD in the AntEx cryptocurrency project, and held the role of strategic consultant. AntEx is promoted as a DeFi (deFi) financial ecosystem with the ambition of developing stablecoin VNDT, attracting the attention of domestic investors even though Vietnam does not have a legal corridor for digital assets.
However, after a short time, token AntEx plummeted to 99% of its value, the project's website and communication channels were closed one after another. In March 2023, AntEx changed its name to Rabbit (RAB), but the new token also depreciated by 95% compared to its peak. The project has almost disappeared.
On September 24, Shark Binh publicly shared for the first time about this defeat. He said that many startups issue coin only to raise capital early and admitted that it is sore to participate in coin investment: I used to invest in the AntEx project, but the technology team had wrongdoings and disappeared, causing investors and consultants like me to take a reputation.
According to Mr. Binh, "99% of coin projects are in a situation where investors lose money, while founders benefit legally". In addition to AntEx, Next100Blockchain has also participated in other blockchain projects such as the NFT Dragon Land game developed by V2B Labs, but most of them are "deadly", reflecting the true situation of the digital currency market: rapidly exploding, rapidly falling.
In parallel with business activities, Mr. Nguyen Hoa Binh is widely known through the Shark tank Vietnam program. During the 5 seasons he participated in, he closed 40 investment deals, including cooperation with other "sharks", but the actual disbursement capital was not much. Some notable deals include: investing 1.2 million USD in Perfect, 500,000 USD in Coolmate, 10 billion VND for engineer Nguyen Vinh Son, 500,000 USD for Xin Chao Noodles and 8 billion VND in Nada Oils.
The image of "Shark Binh" was once associated with a straightforward, bold style and innovative vision. However, in addition to successful deals, many projects invested through NextTech and the Next100 fund did not meet expectations, some were suspected of lacking financial transparency.
