On February 18th, 2019, in Hanoi, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Doan Thai Son had a meeting with Mr. Tanee Sangrat, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to Vietnam. Also attending the meeting were Mrs. Woratip Otrakul - First Secretary of the Royal Thai Embassy in Vietnam, together with representatives of the SBV’s International Cooperation Department and the Banking Supervision Agency.
At the meeting, Deputy Governor Doan Thai Son welcomed Ambassador Tanee Sangrat to visit and work with the SBV. In his congratulations to Mr. Tanee Sangrat on his new appointment as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Thailand to Vietnam from December 2018, the SBV Deputy Governor believed that, in this important position, Mr. Tanee Sangrat will be a bridge, actively contributing to further developing the close relationship between the two countries in general and the cooperation in the finance and banking sectors in particular.
Deputy Governor Doan Thai Son emphasized that the economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Thailand has continued to develop and achieved positive results over the past time. Thailand is currently Vietnam's largest trading partner and Vietnam is Thailand's second largest trading partner in ASEAN, while Thailand is among the 10 largest foreign investors in Vietnam.
SBV Deputy Governor Doan Thai Son speaks at the meeting
Regarding the cooperation between the two central banks, the SBV and the Bank of Thailand have signed 02 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), one on bilateral cooperation in the banking sector (2017) and the other on cooperation in information exchange in the field of banking inspection and supervision (2018).
"It is expected that in the coming time, the two central banks will continue to sign a number of MOUs, including a revision to the MOU on cooperation in information exchange in the field of banking inspection and supervision, and an MOU on cooperation in the field of financial innovation. These form comprehensive cooperation frameworks between the two countries' banking systems,” said the SBV Deputy Governor.
The Deputy Governor expressed that the SBV has high evaluation for the cooperation activities between the two central banks reflected by the exchanges of high-level delegations and many technical missions, the experience sharing in important areas such as local currency payment, Fintech, banking inspection and supervision, internal audit, etc. These cooperation activities have been assessed by the beneficiaries as being practical, equipping the SBV with important information/expertise, especially in the context that the SBV has been developing and improving the legal framework for the management of these fields.
In his evaluation of the cooperation relations between the commercial banks of the two countries, according to the Deputy Governor, although up to now, there has been no presence of Vietnamese banks in Thailand, the payment operations have been smooth thanks to the fact that Vietnamese commercial banks have established a network of more than 200 correspondent banks, thereby fulfilling their roles as a bridge between the investors and businesses of the two countries. There are currently 07 Thai credit institutions operating in Vietnam in the form of foreign bank branches and representative offices. In general, these entities are operating efficiently and in compliance with Vietnamese laws.
Thai Ambassador to Vietnam Tanee Sangrat exchanged at the meeting
Ambassador Tanee Sangrat thanked Deputy Governor Doan Thai Son for taking time to meet him. The Ambassador once again emphasized that the relationship between Thailand and Vietnam is entering a new stage and growing further. Ambassador Tanee Sangrat said Vietnam is Thailand's leading trading partner in the region. Thailand's FDI in Vietnam is increasing.
Ambassador Tanee Sangrat expressed his desires to further promote the cooperation between the two countries in general, and between the central banks of the two countries in particular, and emphasized that Thailand is willing to cooperate and facilitate the conditions for Vietnamese commercial banks to cooperate and establish their presence in Thailand in the near future.
VA