On October 25, 2023, at the headquarters of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the SBV and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) co-organized a kick-off ceremony on the Technical Assistance Project on Expanding Inclusive and Climate Finance.
Representatives of the SBV and the ADB in Vietnam, sign the No Objection Letter (NOL) for the Technical Assistance Project
Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dzung highly acknowledged the “Technical Assistance Project on Expanding Inclusive and Climate Finance” and said that this is one of the critically important projects to help create a favorable environment for Fintech development in order to improve the quality and diversify the provision of financial products and services to the people and businesses, thereby contributing actively to the enhancement of the national inclusive finance. The Project is also expected to contribute to promoting green growth through the development and the contributions of green banking and green credit.
Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dzung speaks at the ceremony
Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dzung shared that Fintech is among the key tasks in the Government’s Plan in order to expand the accessibility of consumers and SMEs to financial services. This TA Project would also enable the SBV to improve the legal frameworks for digital finance, and support the financial institutions to develop digital banking. The rapid development of Fintech has driven innovation and creativeness in the provision of financial services, thereby enhancing the operational efficiency and increasing the customers’ experience, enabling customers to make transactions rapidly, safely and conveniently, expanding the access to finance and banking services, contributing to the implementation of the goals of inclusive finance. However, there are still potential risks from the competitiveness, the financial instabilities, the operational, management and governance risks, as well as the protection of customers’ rights.
The SBV Deputy Governor hoped that, during the five years of implementation, the Project would support the SBV and the relevant agencies to leverage the benefits brought by Fintech and effectively resolve the risks and challenges. Moreover, Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dzung also expressed his sincere thanks to the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the ADB for having supported Vietnam, and committed to mobilizing all needed resources to ensure the implementation progress and the effectiveness of the Project.
Ambassador Dominique Paravicini, Head of SECO Economic Cooperation and Development Division, speaks the ceremony
Speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador Dominique Paravicini, Head of SECO Economic Cooperation and Development Division, made high evaluation for the cooperation between Switzerland and Vietnam, including the cooperation in the finance and banking sector.
According to Mr. Dominique Paravicini, the TA Project would continue to expand the comprehensive support of Switzerland to Vietnam, aimed at further enhancing and developing the financial sector in the country. Through the development of Fintech in Vietnam and the promotion of the digitalization process in the banking sector, the Project would bring about new opportunities to SMEs to improve the accessibility to finance and reduce their costs, thereby contributing to the development of the banking sector and to Vietnam’s economic growth.
Mr. Shantanu Chakraborty, ADB Country Director for Vietnam, speaks at the ceremony
At the ceremony, Mr. Shantanu Chakraborty, Country Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Vietnam, said that Fintech is the key to promote convenient and innovative financial solutions and services to support people and SMEs with difficulties in accessing financial and banking services, while improving the financial efficiency and security.
Mr. Shantanu Chakraborty shared that, over the past time, the ADB has had many effective cooperation projects with the SBV. With this technical assistance, it would further promote the digital transformation in Vietnam’s banking sector. Moreover, he expressed his hope to accompany Vietnam’s banking sector to promote the digital transformation, contributing to the strong development of digital transformation in Vietnam. The ADB would support Vietnam to achieve the objectives of the TA Project on Expanding Inclusive and Climate Finance.
Toward the end of the ceremony, Ms. Dao Thuy Hang, Deputy Director General of the SBV International Cooperation Department, and Mr. Shantanu Chakraborty, ADB Country Director for Vietnam, signed the No Objection Letter (NOL) for the Technical Assistance Project on Expanding Inclusive and Climate Finance.
Le Hang