Mekong Capital – Frontier Market Firm of the year

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (01 March 2017) – Mekong Capital has been awarded Frontier Market Firm of the year in Asia for 2016 by Private Equity International. The Private Equity International Awards 2016 are voted by the investment industry professionals and included more than 35,000 votes across all categories for the 2016 awards.

This is the fourth year in a row of Mekong Capital winning an award by Private Equity International, after having won the Operational Improvement Firm of the year for the Asian Small Cap category in 2013 & 2015, Frontier Market Firm of the year for 2014.

Mekong’s investee companies performed very well in 2016, led by MobileWorld, Traphaco, Phu Nhuan Jewelry, Vietnam Australia International School, ABA Cool-trans, Wrap & Roll, and F88. This performance is strongly correlated with these companies applying many best practices which are part of Mekong Capital’s Vision Driven Investing framework.

Exits in 2016 included full exits of Phu Nhuan Jewelry, FPT Corporation, Intresco, Nam Long and several partial exits of MobileWorld. The most recent exit of MobileWorld in the fourth quarter was at a price per share 89x the original price per share at which our fund originally invested in 2007. Mekong Enterprise Fund III has completed new investments in ABA, Wrap & Roll, and F88 and expects to announce 3-4 more investments in the first half of 2017.

Chris Freund, founder, and Partner of Mekong Capital said:

“This is a great honor for our team, and also reflects the strong track record that is emerging in Vietnam’s private equity industry in general. The results that our investee companies have been delivering are also an affirmation of the strong management teams they have been building, their investment in developing corporate cultures that deliver results, and their general openness to applying best practices.”

Chad Ovel, Partner of Mekong Capital also shared:

“We are very proud to receive this unique award. This recognition is a clear validation of the large investment we have made to transition into a truly operating-centric firm. Our ability to provide our investee companies access to global best practices has been an absolute game-changer for their businesses and our returns.”