On March 20, 2024, at the headquarters of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dzung had a meeting with a delegation of the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) headed by Mr. Ted Osius, President & CEO of the USABC, former US Ambassador to Vietnam.
Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dzung speaks at the meeting
Also attending the meeting, there were representatives of several US companies operating in Vietnam and ASEAN, such as JP Morgan, KKR, Visa, Mastercard, SAP, Dow, Manulife, Salesforce, Reinsurance Group of America… On the SBV’s side, there were representatives of the SBV entities, including the International Cooperation Department, the Department of Credit for Economic Sectors, the Foreign Exchange Management Department, the Payment Department, the Department of Legal Affairs, and the Banking Supervision Agency.
At the meeting, the two sides focused on discussing the following topics: (i) the SBV’s priorities in the Socio-Economic Recovery and Development Program scheduled to be implemented in 2024 with the aims of maintaining the socio-economic stability and improving the resilience to the global economic fluctuations; (ii) the plans of reviewing, amending and supplementing the legal frameworks, mechanisms, policies and documents on monetary and banking operations in 2024; (iii) the development trends and the possibilities for the US business community to contribute to the digital transformation in the finance and banking sector; the cyber security and the countering of financial hi-tech crimes; fintech; green finance; (iv) the possibilities for the US business community to contribute to and support the implementation of the cooperation objectives, enhancing the bilateral relations between Vietnam and the US within the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dzung highly appreciated the annual meetings with the USABC and expressed his willingness to listen to feedbacks and issues raised by the USABC for exchanging and resolving any obstacles, as well as for the promotion of the activities of the US businesses in Vietnam.
An overview of the meeting
Sharing with the USABC Delegation, the SBV Deputy Governor said that in 2023, in light of many challenges in the global and domestic markets, the SBV had managed the monetary policy in a proactive, flexible, effective, and consistent manner in order to maintain the stability of the banking system and the financial market. The monetary policy management had actively supported Vietnam’s economic recovery and development, contributing to controlling the inflation and maintaining the macro-economic stability; the forex market has been basically stable; the Vietnamese Dong is stable as compared to many other currencies in the region and around the world; the common lending interest rates decreased to low levels compared with those before the COVID-19 pandemic; the banking system had been well prepared to provide credit resources to the economy. In addition, the SBV Deputy Governor also briefed the USABC Delegation of the plans for improving the legal frameworks in the banking sector, and for the promotion of the digital transformation in the banking sector, as well as the implementation of the Scheme of restructuring the system of credit institutions in association with NPL resolution. Accordingly, in the coming time, the SBV would continue to encourage foreign investors to participate in transferring knowledge, technology, and strengthen the business cooperation, as well as join the restructuring the domestic credit institutions.
The SBV Deputy Governor emphasized that the digital transformation has been implemented smoothly and strongly in Vietnam; online transactions at a lot of banks have accounted for more than 90% of the total number of transactions. That rapid change has got significant contributions from the US technology solution providers such as HP, IBM, Dell… The SBV Deputy Governor said that Vietnam is committed to always giving priorities to supporting and protecting foreign investors in Vietnam, encouraging US businesses to increase their commercial presence and contribute more to Vietnam's socio-economic development, especially in the areas of green growth.
Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dzung gives a souvenir to the USABC Delegation
Former US Ambassador Ted Osius, President & CEO of USABC, congratulated the SBV on its successes in the monetary policy management, which had contributed to maintaining the macro-economic stability in 2023 and upgrading Vietnam's national credit rating to BB+ with a "Stable" outlook according to Fitch Ratings' assessment.
Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dzung takes a photo with the USABC Delegation
Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dzung expressed his appreciation for the sharing and the recommendations of the USABC and the US businesses. The SBV Deputy Governor affirmed that the SBV is always willing to receive recommendations and proposals from the USABC in particular and the US businesses in general, and the SBV also pays a lot of attention to thoroughly addressing any issues under its jurisdiction in order to maximize the support for the operations of the US businesses in Vietnam, promoting the trade and investment cooperation between the two sides.
Le Hang