The SBV’s Delegation attends IMF/WBG 2023 Spring Meetings

The SBV Deputy Governor also attended as one of the panelists in the Conference on “Unlocking the full potential of digital transformation in Southeast Asia” co-organized by the WB and the Southeast Asia Group Office at the IMF, and participated in the Roundtable Discussion among central banks on “Enhancing Cross-Border Payments: Opportunities and Challenges for Emerging and Developing Economies” organized by the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) under the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

SBV Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha meets Mrs. Manuela V. Ferro, WB Regional Vice President for East Asia and Pacific

At the meeting with Mrs. Manuela V. Ferro - WB Regional Vice President for East Asia and Pacific, SBV Deputy Governor expressed his high appreciation for the WB’s important role and support during the reform and development process of Vietnam’s economy in the past 30 years.

The SBV Deputy Governor also shared information about the preparation and development progress of the new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for the period of 2023 - 2027; the plan for the saving funds from IDA resources, and the negotiation progress of the new projects for the fiscal year of 2023, as well as the capital contribution to the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The SBV Deputy Governor expressed his wishes that the WB would continue to be a companion with and provide both financial and technical support to Vietnam, especially in infrastructure investment and in responding to climate change.

Mrs. Manuela V. Ferro acknowledged the efforts of both sides over the past years and affirmed that the WB would be ready to be a companion with Vietnam in achieving the socio-economic development goals.

SBV Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha and Mrs. Manuela V. Ferro - WB Regional Vice President for East Asia and Pacific.

SBV Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha meets Mr. Riccardo Puliti - IFC's Regional Vice President for Asia and the Pacific

At the meeting with Mr. Riccardo Puliti - IFC’s Regional Vice President for Asia and the Pacific, SBV Deputy Governor expressed his high appreciation for the IFC’s support to the private sector of Vietnam, and suggested that the IFC continue to focus capital in the priority areas identified by the Government of Vietnam, such as energy, agriculture, production, etc.

On the side of the IFC, Mr. Riccardo Puliti congratulated the Government of Vietnam on the impressive achievements in controlling the inflation and maintaining a high growth rate as compared to other countries in the region. He also expressed high evaluation for the performance of the cooperation between the two sides. The IFC Vice President took note of the SBV’s proposals, and committed to mobilize more resources to support the Government in such areas as sustainable development, climate change response in the future.

SBV Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha meets Mr. Hassan Zaman - the WB’s Regional Director for East Asia and Pacific, Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions

At the meeting with Mr. Hassan Zaman - the WB’s Regional Director for East Asia and Pacific, Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions, SBV Deputy Governor informed about the recent performance results of Vietnam’s banking sector and the development orientations in the coming time. The SBV Deputy Governor also suggested that the WB continue to support Vietnam’s banking sector in general and the SBV in particular, focusing on improving the legal frameworks, green growth and green credit, digital transformation, financial inclusion, etc. by providing policy advice, technical assistance and capacity development activities.

Mr. Hassan Zaman asserted that WB would continue to closely cooperate with the SBV in the current programs and projects, as well as to mobilize new resources to support the SBV in implementing the priorities of the banking sector.

SBV Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha meets Mr. Danny Alexander - AIIB Vice President for Policy and Strategy

At the meeting with Mr. Danny Alexander - Vice President for Policy and Strategy at the AIIB, the SBV Deputy Governor expressed his high evaluation for the AIIB’s achievements after 7 years of operations after its establishment. The AIIB has been expanding its operations and has made significant steps in becoming an important multilateral development bank, together with the other institutions such as the WB, the ADB, etc., providing capital resources to meet the needs for infrastructure development in Asia.

Mr. Danny Alexander expressed his high appreciation for the contributions of Vietnam in general and the SBV in particular to the AIIB’s activities. He affirmed that the AIIB would continue to be a companion with Vietnam, especially in areas such as infrastructure investment, climate change response, aiming toward the net zero emission target by 2050.

Overview of the Conference.

The Conference themed “Unlocking the full potential of digital transformation in Southeast Asia”, which was co-organized by the WB and the Southeast Asia Group Office at the IMF

At the Conference themed “Unlocking the full potential of digital transformation in Southeast Asia” co-organized by the WB and the Southeast Asia Group Office at the IMF, the SBV Deputy Governor shared that, in the field of digital transformation, Vietnam’s banking sector had achieved certain results, yet there are still many challenges to be addressed, such as the increasing trend of high-tech crimes; the management and supervision over the new business models; the allocation of resources for the digital transformation to ensure the practicality and the effectiveness. In order to promote digital transformation in the coming time, the SBV would focus on a number of solutions, including the improvement and consolidation of the legal frameworks; improving the regulations and guidelines on information security and safety; promoting e-KYC in the provision of banking services; enhancing the financial education; strengthening the connection with the national database on population; etc.

Assessing the implications of digital transformation on financial inclusion, the SBV Deputy Governor added that the SBV has been coordinating with the relevant ministries and agencies to allow three telecommunications businesses to engage in the pilot implementation of Mobile-money services, in which people can use their mobile phone accounts to pay for small-valued goods and services at payment acceptance points.

Besides, Vietnam has also been implementing a pilot scheme for non-cash payments in the rural areas. The current draft Law on Credit Institutions is expected to include new regulations allowing the banks to come into agency arrangements with business establishments in order to expand their operations, enabling the people‘s access to financial and banking services even in the remote areas.

SBV Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha speaks at the Conference themed “Unlocking the full potential of digital transformation in Southeast Asia”.

The Roundtable Discussion among central banks on “Enhancing Cross-Border Payments: Opportunities and Challenges for Emerging and Developing Economies” organized by the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) under the Bank for International Settlements (BIS)

At the Roundtable Discussion among central banks on “Enhancing Cross-Border Payments: Opportunities and Challenges for Emerging and Developing Economies” organized by the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) under the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the SBV Deputy Governor asserted that, in the field of cross-border payments, the emerging and developing economies, including Vietnam, have an advantage of being the followers. Therefore, they could learn from the previous experience regarding the development of the legal frameworks, the management and selection of appropriate technologies with the support from the foreign institutions such as the BIS, the IMF, the WB, etc.

Sharing about Vietnam’s policies in this field, the SBV Deputy Governor informed that Vietnam has been working on a new revision of the Law on Credit Institutions, in which the section on payment activities is one of the key contents, with the goal of promoting the development of payment infrastructure, payment products and services. The Government of Vietnam has formulated a National Plan for Digital Transformation; standardized chip cards and QR codes on the national level; encouraged individuals and organizations to open payment accounts; developed a Sandbox mechanism for Fintech; etc.

The SBV Governor confirmed that the SBV always stands ready to support and join the global initiatives on cross-border payment connections with other countries and territories, aiming toward to a digital world and a digitized global economy.

LK