Since 2025, many organizations in Vietnam have begun to pay more attention to digitizing data on real-world assets (often abbreviated as RWA). Similar to how e-commerce or financial technology has created new standards for transactions and governance, RWA is expected to contribute to standardizing information, making benefits transparent and increasing operational efficiency.
Within that framework, “RWA enterprise” can be understood as an enterprise that deploys infrastructure, processes and controls to bring real asset data into the digital environment safely, with reconciliation, and in accordance with the applicable legal framework. HVA positions itself as a companion unit in terms of operational standards, technology and risk management for partners who need to research and deploy this model.
What is an RWA Enterprise?
From a conservative and neutral perspective, an RWA enterprise is an organization that:
- Data recording, standardization and reconciliation relating to real assets (e.g. goods, real estate, legal property rights, contractually secured revenues…).
- Management of rights and obligations attached to the property according to existing legal documents.
- Operation of information disclosure, inspection and control mechanism, and digital business processes to facilitate the management, transfer or exploitation of asset value within the scope of law.
Core point: RWA enterprises do not automatically issue “digital assets” or “securities”. Any activities of offering, brokerage, listing or organizing transactions may only be carried out when qualified and licensed according to current regulations; outside of those scopes, enterprises only provide technology services for data standardization, rights-obligation management and digital process operation within the legal framework.
Core characteristics of RWA business
Assets with clear legal basis: Enterprises need to verify the origin, legal status, binding status (mortgage, pledge, dispute, etc.) and establish the competent authority to manage/exploit. This is the foundation for all future digital data to accurately reflect the reality.
Independent valuation and appraisal: Apply international standards such as IFRS/IVS, while keeping track of methods, assumptions and update frequency. The goal is to limit deviations and create a basis for monitoring and reconciliation.
Regular custody - inventory - reconciliation: Physical assets or property rights must have a mechanism for record keeping and periodic inventory. For assets requiring preservation, the enterprise must establish warehouse/storage procedures, operating logs and independent confirmation records where appropriate.
Technology infrastructure – data: Businesses use digital systems to manage their portfolios, standardize data, connect operational data sources (ERP, warehouses, banks, service partners), set up alerts, prevent fraud, and track changes. The use of blockchain technology (if any) is only a technical option and does not change the legal nature of the assets.
Information disclosure and risk management: Establish appropriate data disclosure policies; conduct regular audits; assess legal, operational, market, and partner risks; and have an emergency response plan. The level of disclosure must be consistent with the law and agreed upon with stakeholders.
RWA Enterprise Organizational Model
International practice shows that the lean model often revolves around six functional blocks, flexibly adjusted for each industry:
- Asset Management: responsible for legal documents, status monitoring, and updating changes.
- Valuation & Appraisal: standards, methods, frequency and tracking.
- Custody & Inspection: periodic inventory, reconciliation records, safety procedures.
- Technology & Data: system architecture, data source integration, security.
- Digital rights management: create electronic records of rights and obligations associated with assets;
- Market connection: coordinate with licensed organizations (when the legal framework permits) to carry out transfer/conversion needs as prescribed.
“Technology is just one layer in the governance architecture. If legal and operational are separated, technology will find it difficult to create sustainable trust.” — Eric Vuong
8 key functional groups of RWA enterprises
Establish legality → Independent valuation → Establish custody/inventory mechanism → Controlled digitization → Real-time data reconciliation → Appropriate disclosure → Multi-layered risk management → Periodic reassessment.
This closed loop helps businesses maintain consistency between digital data and the physical condition of assets, while also creating a foundation for working with third parties (audit organizations, legal consultants, banks, warehouse partners, appraisers, etc.). HVA recommends establishing data SLAs, change logs, audit trails, and granular access authorization.
RWA Enterprise 3-tier System
- Real Asset Class: tangible assets or property rights with legal records.
- Digitization & Control Class: pricing, custody, data update and reconciliation mechanisms; optional blockchain technology as a recording infrastructure if required.
- Market Connection Class: channels for transferring/converting/exploiting value within the legal framework.
Note: Any issuance/offering or brokerage activities may only be carried out when permitted by the legal framework and licensed by the state authority.
This layering helps the management team not to mix technical stories with legal-business stories.
How is RWA business different from crypto?
Comparisons are often misleading, so here are just the differences in approach:
- RWA businesses start with assets that have legal records and reconciliation processes.
- The focus is on data governance and property rights, rather than creating “speculative” units.
- Any form of public introduction (if any) must be legally identified and comply with the relevant disclosure requirements.
The role of RWA enterprises in the Vietnamese economic picture
If implemented properly and in compliance, the RWA business model can:
- Helps businesses manage assets more efficiently with consistent data and better risk control.
- Increase transparency in supply chains, logistics, contracts and cash flow.
- Facilitate working with financial institutions, auditing organizations, and trading partners through standardized electronic records.
- Contribute to expanding legal capital channels (in case of meeting legal conditions), especially for assets that were previously difficult to value or difficult to track.
In these steps, HVA provides a framework for each phase of implementation: survey – data model design – limited testing – independent audit – compliance assessment – extended operation, with the principle of “compliance first, utility later”.
Conclude
RWA Enterprise is a disciplined approach to bringing real asset data into the digital environment in a standardized, transparent and controlled manner. When operated properly, this model can support Vietnamese enterprises to upgrade asset management, improve operational efficiency and prepare for increasingly high requirements for cooperation - auditing - information disclosure.
This series of articles is for sharing knowledge and information, not for investment recommendations or financial product offerings, not for legal analysis or predictions, but focuses on sharing about technology, economics, and investment. The contents referring to regulations, if any, will be written based on existing legal principles, the parts without detailed regulations will be explained and mentioned based on experience in countries that have implemented them in practice. Readers need to proactively read and understand the current policies and legal framework of Vietnam through official documents; at the same time, need to comply with the current legal framework and only operate when specifically licensed, cautiously and responsibly towards the State, community, and society.
Eric Vuong
Chairman of BOD
HVA Investment Joint Stock Company
