The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Trade Finance Programme (TFP) and two Vietnamese banks — An Binh Joint-Stock Bank (ABBANK) and Tien Phong Commercial Joint-Stock Bank (TPBank) — on Wednesday signed agreements in Ha Noi.

The agreements enable the programme to provide guarantees of up to US$50 million annually to support trade finance in Viet Nam.

TFP is currently working with 11 commercial banks in Viet Nam. With this signing, the number increases to 13 commercial banks.

Steven Beck, ADB’s head of Trade Finance, said the TFP was aimed at helping Viet Nam and its businesses expand trade opportunities, increase competitiveness and promote trade-led inclusive growth.

Beck said trade and trade finance were critical to the global and regional economy, in particular to small- and medium-sized enterprises and job creation.

Cu Anh Tuan, chief executive officer of ABBANK, said this co-operation with the TFP would not only bring higher business efficiency, but also create an opportunity for the bank to affirm its brand in the banking and financial market.

“The signing with the TFP marks the start of a positive development and close relationship between ADB and ABBANK in developing our banking services. We hope for ADB’s continued trust and support to further promote trade development between Viet Nam and other countries,” Tuan said.

ABBANK is one of the leading commercial joint-stock banks and is among the top 10 largest commercial banks in terms of charter capital in Viet Nam. ABBANK’s current charter capital is more than VND5.3 trillion ($234 million) and it has an extensive network of 164 transaction offices in 34 provinces nationwide.

Nguyen Hung, chief executive officer of TPBank, said the guarantee limit from ADB shall be used to support Vietnamese small- and medium-sized enterprises to optimise their businesses so they can contribute to the country’s economic growth.

"Apart from the trade finance guarantee limit of $30 million, ADB’s extensive network of banks and other financial institutions will provide great opportunities for TPBank to expand its global partnerships," Hung said.

TPBank has total assets of some VND106 trillion (about $4.6 billion), 4,000 employees and an extensive network of 55 branches and transaction offices in Viet Nam. TPBank is a pioneer in setting trends in modern banking services and aims to become the leading digital bank in Viet Nam. Currently, with more than 1.5 million individual customers and businesses, TPBank has been asserting its position as a strong, sustainable and healthy bank in the country.

To date, TFP has supported $8.2 billion in trade through 5,814 transactions, covering both guarantees and direct funding in Viet Nam. Out of TFP’s total transactions in Viet Nam, 67 per cent are related to small and medium-sized enterprises. — VNS