This was the confirmation by Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) at the meeting with the Executive Director of CIMB Bank Limited on September 13, 2018 at the SBV headquarters.
Also attending the meeting on the side of CIMB Group there were Mr.Tengku Zafrul Aziz, CEO; Mr. Shahrul Nazri Abdul Rahim, Development Manager; Mr. Thomson Fam Siew Kat, and CIMB experts in Vietnam. On the side of the SBV, there were leaders of the Payment Department, the International Cooperation Department and the Banking Supervision Agency.
Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh at the meeting
At the meeting, Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh welcomed CIMB delegation led by CEO Tengku Zafrul Aziz to Vietnam to attend the WEF ASEAN 2018 from 11th -13th September, 2018, and to have a meeting with the SBV. He said that the SBV highly appreciated the role of CIMB Group, one of Malaysia's leading financial institutions. Therefore, even though CIMB Vietnam was newly established (in August 2016) with 1 head office and 1 branch in Ho Chi Minh City, the SBV expects that the Bank would operate effectively in Vietnam and promote its role as a bridge between Malaysian businesses and ASEAN for the investment activities in Vietnam, contributing to the general socio-economic development.
For his part, Mr. Tengku Zafrul Aziz thanked the SBV for having facilitated and supported CIMB Vietnam since its establishment. He reported to the SBV on the operations of CIMB Vietnam and its strategy. He also said CIMB is actively preparing for the launching ceremony of CIMB Ho Chi Minh City branch in November 2018. After 2 years of operations, CIMB has focused on the development of technology, human resources and building the foundation for digital banking in Vietnam in the coming time.
CEO Tengku Zafrul Aziz at the meeting
He also shared with the SBV some experience and initiatives on digital banking that CIMB has conducted effectively in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore ..., in which customer identification is very important, while expanding the customers’ base through financial education, service provision through technologies. This is also the general trend in the world.
The CEO of CIMB also shared that CIMB has a large number of customers in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, ... and now CIMB is present in Vietnam. He believed that CIMB will be the bridge for their customers to connect with Vietnamese economy and support the activities of their customers operating in Vietnam and ASEAN.
In concluding the meeting, Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh affirmed that the development of digital banking is an inevitable trend in the world, so the SBV welcomed that CIMB has identified that trend, and have departed on the right direction when investing in this sector. The SBV hoped that CIMB, with its rish experience, will support the banking system of Vietnam to accelerate the use of digital payment services, contributing to the growth of non-cash payments.
Le Hang