Financial startup Anfin raises $4.8 mln

It was led by angel investor Clement Benoit and U.S.-based startup accelerator Y Combinator.

The money will be used to improve its app by building a social network in it so users can share their investment knowledge.

Anfin was launched in October last year and has raised around $7 million to date.

Its app allows users to invest as little as VND10,000.

Its CEO, Phuoc Tran, said the app has over 100,000 active accounts with a total transaction value of $10 million.

Benoit said creating a product that serves many groups of people in society is the right move in a big market such as Asia.

He hoped the company would branch out to other countries and succeed in its social investing business model.

Interest in stocks remains sky-high in Vietnam, with 476,300 new accounts opened in May, a new record.

Phuoc said despite the volatility in the market, stocks remain an asset class with great prospects.

Data from investment fund Dragon Capital Vietnam shows that in the last five years, stocks have given investors an average return of 16 percent a year, higher than real estate, bonds or gold.