On September 25, 2024, in Hanoi, Deputy Governor Pham Quang Dzung of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) had a meeting with Mr. Lee Hyung Ju, Standing Commissioner of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of the Republic of Korea (RoK).
Deputy Governor Pham Quang Dzung speaks at the meeting
Within the framework of the Workshop themed “Towards a sustainable future: Enhancing Vietnam – Korea Financial Synergies”, Deputy Governor Pham Quang Dzung and Mr. Lee Hyung Ju met and exchanged about the experience of the two countries in the areas that are current development trends in the banking sector, including: digital transformation; sustainable development and banking inspection and supervision.
Deputy Governor Pham Quang Dzung spoke highly of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, and the bilateral cooperation in all sectors over the past time, especially in the finance and banking sector. The Deputy Governor also expressed his hope that the bilateral cooperation between two countries would continue to be strengthened in the coming time.
Vietnam-ROK relationship has been upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership since 2022. The ROK is currently among Vietnam's largest foreign investors and trading partners with more than 10,000 FDI projects in Vietnam. Among the 9 wholly foreign-owned banks in Vietnam, Shinhan Bank Vietnam and Woori Bank Vietnam, with a total of 44 branches, have expanded widely their networks covering all of the key economic areas in Vietnam.
Mr. Lee Hyung Ju, Standing Commissioner of the RoK’s Financial Services Commission, speaks at the meeting
Regarding the bilateral cooperation in digital transformation, the SBV Deputy Governor said that digital transformation has been an essential requirement, a top priority of Vietnam in its development agenda. The SBV has been implementing several projects on cross-border payment using QR codes with Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and has been exploring opportunities for cooperation with India, the ROK, and Japan.
In order to improve the efficiency of the banking supervision and inspection system, the SBV Deputy Governor shared that the SBV is willing to cooperate and provide information on the operational situations of Korean banks in Vietnam, in order to assist the banking inspection and supervision by both countries.
An overview of the meeting
Regarding the strategies for sustainable development, Mr. Lee Hyung Ju informed that not only Shinhan Bank, the leading bank in the ROK, but also other credit institutions have developed their internal policies on sustainable development. Mr. Lee emphasized that the FSC would be willing to share its experience about green banking development with Vietnam in order to implement the ESG objectives in Vietnam in the coming time.
Mr. Lee Hyung Ju emphasized that since the establishment of the bilateral relationship, Vietnam and the ROK have achieved a lot of positive results in various fields. Mr. Lee also affirmed that the FSC always stands ready to share its experience with and support the finance and banking sector in Vietnam.
Towards the end of the meeting, Deputy Governor Pham Quang Dzung once again expressed the wish that the bilateral cooperation relationship between the two countries would be further promoted comprehensively and raised to a new height, towards a sustainable future for both countries.
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