A Vibrant Year for "German Desk" in Vietnam’s Financial Market

HDBank and DEG recently co-organized a workshop on "Business Matching and German Desk" to look back on the one-year journey of German Desk cooperation in Ho Chi Minh City.

The fine relationship between HDBank and DEG, a leading European financial institution owned by KfW Bank Group of the German Government, was launched in 2021 under the witness of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and senior leaders of the two countries, to open a new vision for Germans on the Vietnamese financial market.

At this event, DEG signed a cooperation agreement and handed US$300 million to HDBank to strengthen sustainable development. The two sides also initiated strategic cooperation programs where DEG and HDBank developed strategies, supported German and European businesses to cooperate with Vietnamese partners, and promoted trade, investment, and global supply chains within the framework of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), ODA fund sources and targeted renewable energy development projects under COP26.

One of the cooperation achievements of DEG - HDBank is the German Desk. Since its establishment in June 2021, the German Desk has been very successful in establishing networks and relationships with German and European businesses. This is the 7th service point of DEG and the 3rd specialized service of HDBank for foreign businesses.

For more than a year, through the German Desk, the German Government and DEG have provided support packages and financial solutions for businesses to borrow money for expansion, corporate governance, personnel training, waste reduction in manufacturing, energy conservation, technology transfer and equipment import and export toward sustainable economic development in Germany and Vietnam. For its part, HDBank has provided commercial banking solutions for German businesses in Vietnam and Vietnamese exporters to Germany and other European countries.

Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Kim Byoungho, Chairman of HDBank's Board of Directors, shared, "Vietnam and Germany established and maintained a valuable partnership that has lasted more than 40 years, and Germany is now a major trading partner of Vietnam in Europe. Tens of thousands of Vietnamese are living and doing business in Germany and thousands of German businesses are doing business or exploring investment opportunities in Vietnam. With the EVFTA in force and the transformation of global supply chains reportedly expected to benefit Vietnam, we believe that the Vietnam-Germany relationship and the bilateral business cooperation will be further strengthened in the coming time. This presents a great opportunity for all of us.”

In addition to the German Desk, supported by DEG, HDBank successfully issued US$325 million of convertible bonds to international financial institutions such as IFC, DEG, Affinity Equity Partners and Leapfrog Investments in 2020 and 2021, to increase funding for Vietnamese businesses, especially SMEs and small businesses, to expand their business, strengthen governance and promote Green production practices, he added.

Thus, the HDBank-DEG cooperation has benefited not only Germany but also Europe and, at the same time, opened the door for HDBank to integrate more deeply into the global value chain.

Source: Vietnam Business Forum