Thái Minh Diễm Tú, Chief Marketing Officer of Techcombank.

In an interview, Thái Minh Diễm Tú, Chief Marketing Officer of Techcombank, emphasised the growing importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors for the bank and Việt Nam’s future. With 31 years of history, Techcombank has been a key enabler of Việt Nam’s economic growth and as sustainability becomes increasingly vital, the bank is embedding ESG into its core business strategy to ensure continued success and environmental protection.

Transactions at Techcombank. Photo courtesy of the bank

How important is ESG in Việt Nam and specifically to Techcombank?

Techcombank was founded 31 years ago with charter capital of only VNĐ20 billion and has since grown to become one of the leading private banks in Việt Nam. Throughout the bank’s journey we have always tried to be an enabler of the country’s economic growth and development and to achieve success together with the Vietnamese people. Our goal - to be an enabler of Việt Nam - is reflected in Techcombank’s brand promise to always ‘Be Greater’.

The Vietnamese people have a strong aspirational spirit, which means we are constantly striving to be greater and to achieve success on our own terms. This spirit has seen Việt Nam’s GDP grow over the last 30 years from around US$13 billion to $430 billion..

Techcombank is proud to have been a partner to Việt Nam’s growth over the past 30 years, providing financial products and services that have helped to empower the Vietnamese people. As Việt Nam’s economy has grown and people have become wealthier, sustainability has become increasingly important and the term ESG has gained prominence.

Today, Techcombank is committed to taking a lead on ESG and is embedding ESG factors into the heart of our business strategy and operations. We recognise that for Techcombank to continue to grow and succeed for another 30 years we must do so sustainably and help to protect the nation’s environment and make a positive contribution to society. We have begun our long-term ESG journey with the aim to be a pioneer of sustainability in Việt Nam’s banking industry.

Techcombank is the strategic partner for the HCM City marathon, can you elaborate on why the bank supports this event?

The 7th edition of the Techcombank HCM City International Marathon was held over the weekend of December 6-8 and was the best yet! Techcombank has been the strategic partner for the marathon for the past seven years because it is a fantastic event that enable the bank to uplift Việt Nam and the community in HCM City. Through our support for the marathon, we are helping to showcase Việt Nam’s vibrancy to the world, provide an economic boost to the city, along with giving something back to the community through mass participation in the event and by promoting healthy styles.

The 7th edition of the Techcombank HCM City International Marathon saw 18,000 runners from 64 Vietnamese provinces and many different countries take part in the various races. Mass participation sport, like the HCM City Marathon, aligns with Techcombank’s ‘Be Greater’ promise, by enabling the community to come together to conquer a new challenge and achieve success. So many runners came out to take part shows the aspirational spirit of the Vietnamese people to achieve their own personal greatness.

How does Techcombank integrate mass participation sport into its wider ESG approach?

Techcombank’s strategic partnership with the HCM City International marathon is part of our wider 'Run for a Greater Việt Nam' initiative that also includes support for the Hanoi marathon. We recognise the positive impact mass participation sporting events can have in terms of engaging with the community, uplifting the economy and linking Techcombank’s brand to the achievement and the aspirational spirit of the Vietnamese people.

Our support for the HCM City and Hà Nội marathon is a key element of Techcombank’s ESG approach and particularly to the 'S' – making a positive social contribution. In 2024 the Hà Nội marathon and HCM City marathons together attracted close to 30,000 runners.

When the Techcombank HCM City marathon first began seven years ago it had only around 2,000 runners. By partnering with local government, we’ve turned these events into powerful experiences that inspire thousands to embrace active lifestyles and push beyond their limits. This phenomenal growth shows the power of mass participation sport to connect with peopleand to foster a spirit of community and social engagement.

This year’s third edition of the Techcombank Hanoi International Marathon was particularly significant because it was scheduled to take place in September, right after Typhoon Yagi had hit northern Việt Nam and caused significant damage and loss of life. We took the difficult decision to postpone the marathon by a week and donate around VNĐ3 billion to support the relief efforts and help those impacted by the storm. Despite the rain and winds over 10,000 runners came out for the race when it was eventually held, demonstrating the indomitable spirit and pride of the Vietnamese people as Hà Nội celebrated the 70th anniversary of its Liberation Day.

What specific steps has Techcombank taken to integrate sustainability into the HCM City Marathon?

When Techcombank considers our support for mass participation sporting events like the HCMC marathon, we look at maximising the positive impacts in relation to seven sustainability pillars: Partnership, Participation, People, Planet, Power, Profile and Prosperity. These are pillars defined by the organisation Global Sustainable Sport (GSS).

We believe our support for the Hà Nội and HCM City marathons delivers significant positive sustainability outcomes across five of these seven pillars. Our support helps to foster partnerships with local government and with community organisations, it encourages mass participation by the community, its delivers positive social impact by promoting physical fitness and healthy lifestyles, it uplifts the economy through tourism, and of course, it helps to increase the profile of the Techcombank’ brand and connect it with all aspirational Vietnamese.

As with any activity, there is inevitably some environmental impact to running mass participation sporting events. However, we are working with the event’s organiser and local government departments to try to minimise these effects through recycling of waste and by providing buses to transport participants to and from the racecourse.

How does Techcombank plan to develop its involvement in the HCM City Marathon and similar events to deepen its ESG impact?

I joined Techcombank in 2020 as CMO and since then the marathon has grown and changed so much and has become a truly spectacular and inspiring event. Since inception the Techcombank HCM City International marathon has expanded its participation from over 4,000 runners to around 18,000 this year, with side events running over a full three days.

HCM City should be hugely proud of the event which helps to showcase the city, the community and all of Việt Nam to the world. But we don’t want to stop here. Techcombank’s aim is to create one official city marathon that can become a truly world-class sporting event comparable to the marathon in Singapore and even to world major events like in Tokyo, New York and now also in Sydney.

An official HCM City marathon, supported by Techcombank, would help put the city on the global map and attract visitors from around the world, further boosting the economy and tourist industry. We are currently working with the local government and building community support for what would be truly special marathon event in HCM City, that would serve to unite the community and showcase the vibrancy of this wonderful city.

Techcombank's headquarter building in Hà Nội. Photo courtesy of the bank

Beyond Techcombank’s support for mass participation sport what else is the bank doing to advance its ESG priorities and support Việt Nam’s sustainability goals?

ESG and sustainability is now a key pillar of Techcombank’s transformation strategy and more important to the management team than ever before. As a leading Vietnamese bank, we want to be a partner to the country’s progress through sustainable growth and development. We are therefore actively looking for ways we can help to protect Việt Nam’s environment, make a positive contribution to the community, support and develop our people and foster strong and effective corporate governance in our bank and across the industry.

As one of the leading banks in Việt Nam there are two main areas where we can be effective in delivering positive environmental impact.

First is in the provision of debt financing for green projects. In 2023 Techcombank provided more green financing than ever before and our funding for green projects in Việt Nam has now reached over $5 billion. Techcombank also just became the first private bank in Việt Nam to introduce a Green Bond Framework to ensure that proceeds raised from the issuance of Green Bonds are used by Techcombank to finance projects that provide real environmental benefits to Việt Nam.

Second, Techcombank is introducing policies to be more energy efficient in our operations and supporting our individual and business customers to be more sustainable in the way they live or operate.

For example, the bank’s digital transformation strategy has improved our productivity and helped to minimise our impact on the environment by reducing energy consumption and waste. Another example is our opening of new energy efficiency head office buildings in Hà Nội and HCM City. As well as providing a modern working environment for our people, these buildings were certified as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and are estimated to deliver energy savings of around 26 percent compared to our old offices.

We are also taking the lead in helping our customers be green and live more sustainably. For example, in 2024 we became the first bank in Việt Nam to launch a Visa EcoCard. This EcoCard enables our retail customers to live greener lifestyles by help them track carbon emissions against their spending, easily offsetting their carbon footprint and providing eco-friendly privileges like subscriptions to an EV taxi company.

Our social contributions also go beyond our Run for a Greater Việt Nam initiative. We have donated around VNĐ148 billion to community and social development organisations. Internally the bank is committed to gender diversity and to developing our talent. Women represent 19 per cent of our board positions, while around 61 per cent of our managerial roles are filled by women. On average Techcombank provides around 77 hours of training per employee each year to help them develop their skills and progress in their careers.