Oil operations

International lenders signing the credit facility to support VietinBank Securities

VietinBank securities has received additional funding support with the recent signing of $60 million of syndicated loans, following a $30 million facility just a month ago.

On April 15, a consortium of major international lenders operating in Vietnam – Woori Bank Vietnam (Bac Ninh Branch), Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank Vietnam, and Cathay United Bank Vietnam – has inked an agreement to facilitate $60 million for the additional financial needs of VietinBank Securities.

In particular, Woori Bank Vietnam (Bac Ninh Branch) specifically provided $50 million, while Taipei Fubon and Cathay United provided $10 million altogether.

Last month, a group of four Taiwanese lenders – the Union Bank of Taiwan, Taichung Commercial Bank Co., Ltd.’s Labuan branch, Taishin International Bank, and Huanan Commercial Bank – also rolled out a $30 million syndicated loan with a 12-month tenure for VietinBank Securities.

“We firmly believe that $90 million of high-profile syndicated loans would bring about more additional capacity for us to increase our foothold in Vietnam’s equity market and access to more potential customers,” noted Ho Thi Thu Hien, chairwoman of the board at VietinBank Securities.

On the same note, Lee Myoung Ho, Woori Bank Vietnam (Bac Ninh Branch) director and chief representative, applauded the brokerage’s vast potential and how the syndicated loans could pave the way for the company to bolsters its strength thanks to the competitive capital.

“Woori Bank is one of the largest South Korean banks with extensive years of experience in providing top-notch financial services. With our vast experience, we believe in VietinBank Securities’ strong standing and impressive performance in the past year,” he told VIR .

The deal is envisaged to lay concrete foundations for the company to boost its activities related to international loan advisory and financing arrangements.

At the signing ceremony, VietinBank Securities also connected businesses in various areas, such as Novaland Group, Minh Phu Seafood Group, Viet Hung Industrial Investment JSC, Louis Agro Group JSC, and other enterprises.

As one of the eldest, most experienced seven brokerage companies in the country, VietinBank Securities – as a part of state-owned lender VietinBank – has a proven customer-centric approach, with a wide range of tailored financial services such as underwriting-capital raising, mergers and acquisitions advisory, and asset management, to name a few.

Chubb Life Vietnam always stands ready to provide timely and practical support to the community

Since opening its first office in the country in 2005, Chubb Life Vietnam has focused on creating a positive impact and sustainable development for the communities in which it operates. The company now employs over 40,000 employees and agents, in over 140 offices across Vietnam and makes an important contribution to the development of the country’s education system.

To date, Chubb Life Vietnam and the Chubb Charitable Foundation have contributed over VND30 billion ($1.3 million) to the construction of nine new schools in Central Vietnam. The company has also funded new educational equipment to schools and awarded scholarships to support thousands of underprivileged students in their schooling.

“We are proud to receive the Certificate of Merit from the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam as part of our continuous effort to support the communities we live and work in,” said Lam Hai Tuan, chairman and country president of Chubb Life Vietnam. “With our goal of sustainable development, Chubb Life Vietnam not only focuses on maintaining exceptional business performance but also strives to create long-term value for our customers and their communities. This award is a great recognition and encouragement to our employees’ unwavering effort to support Vietnam’s future generation.”

Lam Hai Tuan added: “I want to take this opportunity to thank the Ministry for their support and recognition of our work helping to ensure a brighter future for the younger generation.”

Chubb Life Vietnam always stands ready to provide timely and practical support to the community. When a series of rainstorms hit Vietnam’s central region in October 2020, the company donated 15,000 warm coats to children in the affected area through the “Chubb Life Vietnam – Am Tinh Mien Trung ” initiative. Not only did this provide much needed material aid, but it also comforted students and allowed them to get back to their study with ease.

Chubb is the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance, and life insurance to a diverse group of clients.

Chubb Life is the international life insurance division of Chubb. In Vietnam since 2005, Chubb Life launched its fund management company (Chubb Life Fund Management Co., Ltd.) in 2013. The company offers a range of life protection, health, savings, and investment-linked insurance solutions through its agents and its wide network of offices.

Fresh CEO rush shakes up Vietnam’s banking arena, photo Le Toan

In February, Shinhan Bank Vietnam named Lee Taekyung, former CEO of Shinhan Bank Cambodia, as new CEO of the local franchise. With 29 years of experience under his belt, Taekyung has been in charge of various positions of strategy, planning, risk management, and marketing, among others.

He previously took the helm as head of the Global Business Division of Shinhan Bank Korea and gained working experience at Shinhan Bank America and Shinhan Bank Cambodia. In the latter, Taekyung doubled the size of the bank, including assets, profits, the number of branches, and employees in just two years.

“In the ever-evolving financial landscape, customers’ needs will change quickly. We must be a bank that keeps pace with customer changes with customer-oriented value as the top priority,” he noted. “Vietnam is the most important country globally for Shinhan Financial Group, and we sincerely appreciate all of the customers. Shinhan Bank Vietnam will continue to expand corporate social responsibility activities in Vietnam and contribute more to society.”

Standard Chartered Vietnam also appointed a new CEO in February. Michele Wee, a seasoned banker with over 25 years of industry experience, joined Standard Chartered in 2011 as global head of E-commerce Sales to build a business distribution channel for the bank’s Financial Markets (FM) clients.

Prior to her appointment as CEO in this country, she was the head of FM for Singapore, Australia, and Brunei, in which she was responsible for the development and execution of these markets’ FM strategy.

“Vietnam is an important market for our global network with significant opportunities to develop our businesses with universal banking capabilities. My key focus will be on providing valuable support and benefits to our clients, regulators, and the communities, building on our unrivalled local knowledge and international expertise,” Wee said.

She takes over the reins from Nirukt Sapru who was appointed as CEO for Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia in 2013, and in 2015 took on the expanded role as the regional CEO for ASEAN and South Asia cluster markets including Australia, Brunei, Nepal, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.

Last year, the Vietnamese subsidiary of Deutsche Bank appointed Huynh Buu Quang, former CEO of Maritime Bank (MSB), as its acting CEO. Quang had served as the CEO of locally-invested bank MSB for four years. He has 25 years of experience in the banking and financial sector and had previously held senior positions at HSBC.

Deutsche Bank’s Asia-Pacific CEO Alexander von zur Muehlen said, “With Vietnam a key growth market for our bank in ASEAN, we are delighted to have an individual of Quang’s calibre and experience leading the next phase in the expansion of the local franchise.”

In the region, Deutsche Bank AG has a long track record in providing corporate finance and advisory solutions to Vietnamese corporates, leading a number of notable capital market transactions. The bank’s expertise in loans and structured finance is also well known. Since 2017, Deutsche Bank has raised more than $1 billion in debt, loan and equity capital annually for Vietnamese corporates. The German lender confirmed its commitment in Vietnam to support higher trade flows from Europe, which are expected to increase following the recently ratified EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement.

Specifically, major Thai bank Kasikornbank received approval from the State Bank of Vietnam to open its Ho Chi Minh City branch in February. Kasikornbank aims to serve Thai business customers and clients of all shapes and sizes who have invested in Vietnam, as well as local retail customers. It targets lending of 10 billion baht ($318 million) in its first year of operation while also investing in startups with the aim of scouting advanced digital technologies for increased business opportunities.

“Kasikornbank has used the knowledge gained from services offered at its two representative offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in order to upgrade the representative office in Ho Chi Minh City to a bank branch. It will focus on offering services to Thai, Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean companies wishing to expand their businesses in Vietnam for international trade and investment, as well as local entrepreneurs, especially those conducting business with Thai corporate customers of Kasikornbank,” the bank stated.

Elsewhere, Mizuho Financial Group, one of Japan’s largest financial groups, appointed managing executive officer of its banking unit Masahiko Katoas the new CEO of the bank in February.