Eurocham Briefing Gathered State Bank and Businesses

On 3 October in Hanoi, the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) – in collaboration with the EU-Vietnam Business Network – hosted the State Bank of Vietnam Business Briefing, with the presence of the Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hong. In this high-profile event, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) discussed together with relevant companies in the finance and banking sector, as well as the European Union Delegation to Vietnam, on the SBV’s direction regarding monetary policies. The event provided insights on the macro-economic outlook (inflation, credit interest, exchange rate, stock market, etc), with an emphasis on its impact on Vietnam’s competitiveness in the region.

The event approached Vietnam’s trade and investment climate, especially for European investors. The discussion pointed out the challenges and opportunities for the upcoming year and assessed potential interests and risks for European businesses operating in Vietnam. 

  
Preceded by a closed session where EuroCham Corporate Partners and event sponsors’ representatives had the opportunity to convey their views to the SBV, this event was a unique moment in terms of public-private dialogue in Vietnam. The main event focused on Vietnam’s foreign debt, non-performing loans, banking reform highlights, and upcoming monetary policy changes.
 
Deputy Governor Hong was joined by Mr. Nirukt Sapru, CEO of Standard Chartered in the main speaker section, while Ms. Miriam Garcia Ferrer, Head of the Trade Section of the EU Delegation to Vietnam, delivered expert comments on the matters in discussion. A panel with the Deputy Governor was thereafter conducted by Mr. Tommaso Andreatta, Vice-Chair of EuroCham, including Mr. Aymar de Liedekerke Beaufort, EuroCham Treasurer, together with Ms. Natasha Ansell (Country Officer, Citi Group Vietnam), and Mr. Nicolas du Pasquier (Senior Country Manager, BPCE International). 
 
The idea that a banking reform and new monetary policies are needed to respond to a new context for the economy of Vietnam in the near future has been gaining strength recently. Another key EuroCham event, this session was a timely occasion to reflect on upcoming scenarios and forecast how Vietnam will transform itself in the face of new challenges in 2017, hearing it directly from the leadership of the SBV.

Deputy Governor Nguyen Thi Hong, State Bank of  Vietnam 
“In the increasing trend of international economic integration, especially after Vietnam entered a number of important trade agreements such as EVFTA, TPP and establishment of ASEAN Economic Community, the role of chambers of commerce including EuroCham has been becoming more crucial. 
During recent times, EuroCham has been very active as a bridge between the European business community and the Vietnam Government, and between EU business community and Vietnam business community. EuroCham has provided plenty of positive recommendations and comments in order to promote Vietnam as an attractive investment destination and trade partner to European businesses; and international businesses in general.
In the near future, the banking sector will continue to foster the cooperation with EuroCham in order to execute the implementation of free trade agreements, discussing and addressing the concerns from EuroCham on issues of European businesses operating in Vietnam, furthering Vietnam – EU bilateral relations.”

 Niruk Sapru, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam and ASA Cluster Markets 
"We compliment the State Bank of Vietnam on its many achievements in regulating the banking sector in recent years, though more work still needs to be done. At Standard Chartered, we are committed to helping Vietnam develop a sound financial services sector by leveraging our best international practices and experience from our over 150 year history in some of the world’s most dynamic markets. We highly appreciate the dialogue like this, which is a great opportunity for us to exchange views on key issues of the industry, through which we hope to contribute to the further strengthening of the Vietnamese banking sector". 

Michael Behrens, EuroCham Chairman 
"EuroCham’s activities are always tied to current affairs which are relevant to business in Vietnam and to our Members. This Business Dialogue with the State Bank of Vietnam reflects this, focusing on issues such as Vietnam’s foreign debt, tax reform, and banking reform. This was a unique opportunity to talk about these matters directly with the Deputy Governor and give a chance to business to be heard"

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