On September 16, 2019 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the Bilateral Meeting of 2019 between the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) was organized.
Attending the Conference, on the Vietnamese side, there were SBV Governor Le Minh Hung, Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu, and representatives from the International Cooperation Department, the SBV Office, the Monetary Policy Department, the Banking Supervision Agency, the Payment Department, and the Banking University of Ho Chi Minh City. On the Cambodian side, there were NBC Governor Chea Chanto, Deputy Governor Sum Sannisith and representatives from the NBC Departments. The Meeting was also attended by Mr. Lai Xuan Chien, Minister-Counsellor of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Cambodia.
In his opening remarks, NBC Governor Chea Chanto warmly welcomed the SBV delegation led by Governor Le Minh Hung to visit and work in Cambodia. He expressed his thanks for the support of Vietnamese banking experts in the 1980s when the Cambodian banking industry was in a difficult period.
In response to the warm hospitality extended by the NBC, Governor Le Minh Hung said that the Bilateral Meeting was an important occasion for the two sides to update and share information and experiences in carrying out the duties of the central banks, as well as to review the results of the cooperation between the SBV and the NBC in particular, and the banking systems of the two countries in general, and to discuss plans for the enhancement of the cooperation in the coming time. SBV Governor Le Minh Hung emphasized that this Meeting is very meaningful in the context that 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the Vietnamese banking experts’ support for the Cambodian banking system.
An overview of the Meeting
The two sides exchanged their views on the world economic situations, and the results of the monetary policy management, the banking operations and the development trends of payment services in the era of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. In the context of global economic slowdown and increasing trade tensions, Vietnam and Cambodia have achieved encouraging results in economic growth, macro-economic management and poverty reduction. In 2018 the two countries obtained, and it is expected to continue in 2019, the highest GDP growth rates in ASEAN, with inflation maintained at a reasonable level. For Vietnam, since the Bilateral Meeting of 2018, Vietnam’s banking industry has achieved many outstanding achievements and have contributed significantly to the macro-economic stability and the inflation control, supporting the economic growth, removing the difficulties, and supporting the businesses and individuals. The implementation of the Plan of restructuring credit institutions and handling with bad debts has achieved positive results and would continue to be the focus in the coming time.
The delegates take a photo
NBC Governor Chea Chanto spoke highly of the results of the monetary policy management and the banking operations of Vietnam, especially the policies on economic stability, forex management and anti-dollarization of Vietnam in the recent years, and expressed his hope that the SBV would share its experiences in the above mentioned substances.
Governor Le Minh Hung speaks at the Meeting
He said that in 2019, Cambodia’s economy is expected to grow at 7%, the inflation will increase slightly due to the rise in gasoline prices. He emphasized that the dollarization would continue to be a huge challenge to Cambodia’s economy, which is another factor that continues to affect the implementation of the monetary policy of the NBC.
Regarding the results of the cooperation between the two central banks, the two sides affirmed to maintain a good relationship to support each other in the regional and international fora and set out the directions for the cooperation in the coming time.
*Right after the Bilateral Meeting, the two Governors co-chaired a dialogue with several Vietnamese commercial banks currently operating in Cambodia (BIDV, Agribank, MB, Sacombank and SHB).
At the dialogue, representatives from the Vietnamese commercial banks presented their reports on the banking performance over the past time and made some recommendations to the two Governors.
NBC Governor Chea Chanto highly appreciated the operations of the Vietnamese commercial banks in Cambodia over the past time, which has contributed greatly to Cambodia’s economic development. He also promised to resolve the issues raised by the Vietnamese commercial banks in the spirit of creating favorable conditions for the commercial banks to operate effectively in Cambodia.
SBV Governor Le Minh Hung affirmed that Vietnamese commercial banks are committed to long-term investment, and would always comply with the applicable laws of Cambodia for the sustainable development of the bilateral relations. He expressed his gratitude and hoped that the Government of Cambodia and the NBC would continue to support Vietnamese commercial banks to operate effectively in Cambodia, and looked forward to seeing the two sides continue to promote the potential cooperation in the banking sector in the coming time.
Le Hang