Shantanu Chakraborty was appointed as the new Country Director for Việt Nam. — Photo courtesy of ADB
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed Shantanu Chakraborty as its new Country Director for Việt Nam.
Chakraborty, who assumed office on Monday, will lead ADB’s operations in the country, represent the bank in policy dialogue, and further foster its relationship with the Government and other stakeholders. He will supervise the implementation of the country partnership strategy for 2023–26, which focuses on Việt Nam’s transition to a green economy, harnessing the private sector, and promoting social equity.
“It is my great honour to be appointed the Country Director for Việt Nam. For 30 years, ADB has been a trusted partner of the government and the people of Việt Nam,” said Chakraborty. “I am pleased to lead ADB’s ongoing efforts to further strengthen the partnership between the bank and Việt Nam. ADB is continuing its lending and non-lending support to foster inclusive, green, and private sector-led growth in Việt Nam, and building the foundation for the country to achieve the goal of becoming an upper middle-income country by 2030.”
Chakraborty succeeds Andrew Jeffries, who ended his term as country director on April 27, 2023.
Chakraborty has almost 28 years of professional experience across South, Central, and West Asia, as well as in the US, including 18 years with ADB. He was the Director of the Infrastructure Finance Division 1 and earlier Director of the Private Sector Transaction Support Division in the Private Sector Operations Department (PSOD). His earlier roles in ADB included being the Senior Advisor to the Vice President (Private Sector and Cofinancing Operations) and Principal Investment Specialist in PSOD.
Prior to joining ADB, Chakraborty had almost 10 years’ experience in project finance and investment banking in India (with ICICI Bank) and the US (with UBS Warburg and Landesbank Hessen Thuringen).
Chakraborty, an Indian national, holds a master’s degree in management from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India; a master’s in business administration in finance from the Stern School of Business of New York University; and an engineering degree from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani in India.
Việt Nam is a founding member of ADB. Since the bank’s establishment in 1966, it has committed 457 public sector loans, grants, and technical assistance totalling US$16.5 billion to Việt Nam. — VNS