Team size: 12

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

M_Service is the largest digital payment company in Vietnam (under the MoMo eWallet brand). One of major legal tasks we have is negotiating with various partners who want to use our payment service for their business.

In May 2023, we completed a comprehensive agreement with Apple, allowing MoMo to become the single non-bank payment service provider at the Apple Store in Vietnam. For the first time, the agreement provides Vietnamese customers the option to use their MoMo eWallet to buy Apple products at the store with one-go payment or monthly instalments. Closing such a deal with Apple is a great achievement for us, as everyone knows this is a global leading company that always demands the highest industry standards.

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

At M_Service, we value and promote innovation and creativeness. When ChatGPT was introduced in Vietnam, M_Service is one of the first local subscribers to its corporate package, and I personally encouraged my team members to use ChatGPT to improve drafting skills.

Certainly, ChatGPT may not be able to provide specific advice or concrete work, but it is still very helpful for legal officers, especially at junior levels, to learn about the structure of a legal document or develop standard clauses.

How do you see the general counsel role evolving in Vietnam over the next five-ten years?

We will see in Vietnam what may happen in any other markets. Our initial experience with ChatGPT suggested that AI will become more relevant and may take over sophisticated legal works, in-house counsel will be required to step beyond their traditional scope and explore new area of expertise.

They will need to become an expert in the industry of their organisation, and a member of the business team that expects their advice to be business solutions rather than compliance warnings. There will be less time for paperwork and more demand on interpersonal skills.

People currently discuss about the new role of chief legal officer. While it is still a loosely defined term, as legal and compliance matters become increasingly important in the daily operation of an entity, the role of general counsel should obviously be in the management board, but not as a mid-level manager.

What are some of the main trends impacting your industry in Vietnam?

The fintech industry in Vietnam has grown significantly in the past few years. During Covid, the number of new users we acquired nearly doubled the total number we had over the past decade.

Tech-savvy customers expect one-stop-shop solutions, forcing fintech companies to diversify their products, effectively evolving into super-app platforms or forming partnerships with other providers to form a complete ecosystem. A growing number of users will also lead to security concerns, and fintech companies will be required to adopt stringent measures to improve their KYC and verification solutions.