The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Sai Gon-Ha Noi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) on Tuesday signed a Revolving Credit Agreement (RCA).

Under the agreement, ADB’s Trade Finance Programme (TFP) will provide a US$20 million direct loan to SHB to support pre-shipment and post-shipment trade transactions.

The revolving credit facility will enhance SHB’s capacity to provide trade-related loans to its clients, including for pre-export finance of agriculture products, garments and electronics, for export to markets such as China, Japan and Singapore.

“We are pleased to work with SHB to increase support to companies, including small- and medium-sized businesses. More support for trade means more economic growth and more job creation,” Eric Sidgwick, ADB country director for Viet Nam, said.

SHB became a partner bank in ADB’s TFP in early 2016. In less than 12 months, TFP has supported a total of 25 SHB transactions worth over $160 million. The revolving credit facility is TFP’s second agreement with SHB.

SHB has total assets of more than VND215,000 billion, some 7,000 employees and an extensive network of nearly 500 outlets in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia. SHB serves nearly four million individual customers and businesses.

“Participating in TFP under RCA helps diversify our trade finance products and services. We strongly believe the partnership with ADB in this programme will lead to more future opportunities of cooperation between the two institutions," SHB CEO Nguyen Van Le said.

The TFP has been operating in Viet Nam since 2009 and currently works with 11 local partner banks. To date, the programme has conducted 5,262 transactions, supporting $7.8 billion in trade in Viet Nam -- mostly benefitting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The ADB TFP, backed by ADB’s AAA credit rating, 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 programme 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.

TFP complements its financial support with a regular series of workshops and seminars to increase knowledge and expertise in trade finance products and operations, risk management and fraud prevention.

Since 2009, TFP has supported more than 9,200 SMEs across developing Asia - through over 13,000 transactions valued at over $25.5 billion - in sectors ranging from commodities and capital goods to medical supplies and consumer goods. — VNS