On April 26th, 2018, in Singapore, in the framework of the Vietnam-Singapore Business Forum 2018 with the celebration of the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and the fifth anniversary of the establishment of strategic partnership between Vietnam and Singapore, the signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement between Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) was held in the presence of the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc; the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Le Minh Hung; Minister Of National Development of Singapore; Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment; together with representatives from Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore and about 180 Vietnamese and Singaporean businesses.
Attending the signing ceremony, there were Mr. Ho Meng Kit – Chief Executive Officer and other SBF’s senior officials; On VCB’s side, there were Mr. Pham Quang Dung - General Director; Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung - Director of Wholesale; Ms. Vu Thi Bich Thu - Head of Vietcombank Representative Office in Singapore.
Recognizing the importance of Singapore businesses and the advantages of economic cooperation and trade between the two countries, Vietcombank is proud to be the first Vietnamese bank to open a representative office in Singapore to support the operations of financial institutions and businesses in Singapore who want to invest in Vietnam. Headquartered in Hanoi, Vietcombank is also the first bank to set up a FDI Corporate Banking Department specializing in serving foreign investors in Vietnam, including a dedicated team serving Singaporean clients.
According to the agreement, Vietcombank and SBF will join hands to foster development and efficiency of both, and support SBF in commercial expansion and investment in Vietnam. Vietcombank will be treated as a priority bank for SBF members in banking transactions like cash management, international payment, project funding, short-term credit, guarantees and consulting on M&A deals.
Mr. Ho Meng Kit, CEO of SBF, said that under the deal, SBF members will have more favorable conditions to develop commercial activities and invest in Vietnam, contributing to boosting bilateral ties between the two nations.
Established in 2002, SBF has 25,000 members who are active in 54 sectors and supports member companies to build business links with domestic and international partners. Almost 20% of SBF member firms have already invested in Vietnam.
VA