HÀ NỘI — Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB) has been awarded the “Best Trade-Operations Bank Partner in East Asia and Pacific in 2017".

This recognition was within the framework of the Global Trade Finance Program (or GTFP) by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.

The award aimed to honour the banks that have been active in the GTFP, which helped expand and enhance the trade finance capacity of domestic banks in supporting import-export enterprises in emerging markets, including Việt Nam, VIB said in its statement.

According to IFC, Vietnamese import-export enterprises highly appreciated VIB’s innovation and flexibility in providing trade finance products, especially quick and accurate trade operations.

Besides, VIB has successfully connected and worked with more than 7,500 banks and branches of the correspondent banks in 61 countries and territories to support Vietnamese import-export enterprises in many fields such as oil, metals, chemicals, agricultural products and food to access to global markets.

"The award given to VIB is the recognition of the bank’s efforts and success in trade finance in general and IFC’s GTFP in particular,” Anurag Mishra, IFC representative said.

Thanks to its participation in the banking network of GTFP, VIB is known by banks worldwide, helping it access to other markets and has a good liquidity, he said, adding that on that basic, the Việt Nam-based bank is ready to meet the demand for loans of import-export enterprises at preferential and competitive interest rates.

IFC also advised VIB on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) banking to serve these firms effectively and sustainably as one of the main development orientations of the bank in the coming time, he said.

Since joining the GTFP in 2011, VIB has increased the trade finance line four times by IFC with the current limit up to US$120 million. Total disbursement to VIB through IFC’s guarantee in 2017 reached $260 million.

In November 2017, IFC announced $185 million of syndicated loans to VIB, including $100 million from IFC and $85 million from three international banks such as Cathay United Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China - Hong Kong Branch and Kiatnakin Bank of Thailand. This loan aims to solve two key development challenges in Việt Nam, including the financing gap faced by SMEs and lack of affordable housing. — VNS