The Masan Group has officially announced the receipt of an offshore investment certificate valued at $105 million for a 25 per cent stake in Trust IQ Pte. Ltd., headquartered in Singapore. The investment will be carried out via The Sherpa Company, a subsidiary of Masan.

The certification ceremony took place at a business forum held within the framework of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to Singapore from January 8-10..

Under the agreement, Masan and Trust IQ will work together to build a platform for artificial intelligence in retail (Retail AI), and artificial intelligence in consumption (Consumer AI). The WinCommerce retail chain, which operates WinMart / WinMart+ / WIN) with a high-tech platform from Trust IQ, will cooperate with domestic financial partners to promote the opening of new credit cards towards the goal of credit universalization in Vietnam.

Masan noted that the project is part of its strategic goal for 2025 to create a Consumer - Retail - Technology ecosystem capable of meeting 80 per cent of consumption needs in Vietnam. To realize that goal, it has been gradually perfecting its ecosystem with integrated research in new fields such as financial services, banking, insurance, healthcare, entertainment, and others, based on an extensive point-of-sale network and digital technology and AI platforms.

Previously, at the annual general meeting of shareholders held in April last year, Masan announced the completion of a $65 million investment agreement to buy a 25 per cent stake in Trusting Social, a subsidiary of Trust IQ specializing in AI, machine learning, and big data applications to the consumer credit rating model.

Trust IQ focuses on global software, technology and application development, which includes the development of comprehensive, accurate credit risk assessments based on AI technology and computer science.