ADB injects US$20mn trade finance loan into Vietnamese bank
(20 February 2017 – Asia) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed an agreement to provide a US$20 million (A$26 million) direct loan to Vietnamese-based Sai Gon - Ha Noi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB).
Under the agreement, ADB’s Trade Finance Program (TFP) will provide SHB to support pre-shipment and post-shipment trade transactions.
“We are pleased to work with SHB to increase support to companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs),” said Eric Sidgwick, ADB Country Director for Vietnam.
“More support for trade means more economic growth and more job creation.”
The RCA will enhance SHB’s capacity to provide trade-related loans to clients, including for pre-export finance of agriculture products, garments, and electronics for export to markets such as China, Japan, and Singapore.
SHB became a partner bank in the TFP in early 2016. Since then, the program has supported a total of 25 SHB transactions worth over US$160 million. The RCA is the TFP’s second agreement with SHB.
SHB is one of the largest commercial banks in Vietnam with total assets of more than VND215 trillion (A$12.2 billion), about 7,000 employees, and an extensive network of nearly 500 outlets in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, serving nearly 4 million individual customers and businesses.
“Participating in the TFP under the RCA helps diversify our trade finance products and services,” said Mr. Nguyen Van Le, CEO of SHB.
“We firmly believe that the partnership with ADB in this program will lead to more future opportunities for cooperation between the two institutions.”
The TFP has been operating in Vietnam since 2009 and currently works with eleven local partner banks.
To date it has conducted 5,262 transactions, supporting US$7.8 billion in trade in Vietnam and mostly benefitting SMEs.
Backed by ADB’s AAA credit rating, the TFP provides guarantees and loans to over 200 partner banks to support trade, enabling more companies throughout Asia to engage in import and export activities.
With dedicated trade finance specialists and a 24-hour response time, the program has established itself as a key partner in the international trade community, providing fast, reliable, and responsive support to fill gaps in the region’s most challenging markets.
According to the bank, since 2009, the TFP has supported more than 9,200 SMEs across developing Asia through over 13,000 transactions valued at over US$25.5 billion in sectors ranging from commodities and capital goods to medical supplies and consumer goods.
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