QUẢNG NINH – Việt Nam’s banking sector is committed to continuous improvements in customer service, applying advanced technology and enhancing its operational, financial and managerial competencies, Lê Minh Hưng, Governor of the State Bank of Việt Nam, said yesterday.

Addressing an Asian Bankers Association (ABA) Meeting and Conference in Quảng Ninh Province, Hưng said that in context of intensifying international integration, globalisation and trade liberalisation, Việt Nam had constantly tried to renew its banking sector.

The conference was themed “Asian Banks: Towards Global Integration.”

“Banking renewal has been an internal and vital demand of the system, as it faces difficulties in fostering sustainable development and deepening global integration,” he said.

The process has brought positive changes to the country’s banking system. The legal framework has been improved and encouraging results seen in the handling of bad debts, contributing to the economic stability and curbing inflation.

Over the past 30 years, Việt Nam has recorded important achievements in its renewal process. Its economy has grown at 6.6 per cent a year. Việt Nam has also become a middle-income country, with its economy operating under market mechanisms, reaching towards international standards.

Việt Nam signed 14 FTAs that have become the foundation for the country to enter a new development phase for sustainable growth of 6.5 to 7 per cent.

“I expect that foreign investors will more actively participate in the restructuring of local banks. I believe that this period will bring bigger opportunities to all partners,” the central bank governor said.

Difficulties ahead

Although there are lots of challenges and difficulties ahead, especially with unexpected fluctuations seen in both regional and global economies, “with our cooperation and initiative, ABA continues to be a significant factor in the growth and prosperity of Asia,” Hưng said.

ABA Chairman Daniel Wu noted that Asia’s economies had boomed in recent decades.

The region today accounts for about 40 per cent of the world’s GDP, up from 25 per cent in 1990, and contributes about two-third’s of global economic growth.

Wu said that Asia was expected to continue to grow at an average annual rate of 5 per cent, leading global economic expansion.

The rapid economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region in the past decades led to increased openness and greater integration of the region into the global economy, and elevating the region into a central position in global economic and financial affairs.

He said Việt Nam was an economic development success story. The political and economic reforms launched in 1986 had transformed the country into lower middle income status within a quarter of century. Moreover, Việt Nam had boosted its international economic integration, as it entered into more free trade agreements with other countries, Wu said.

He expressed confidence that holding this year’s ABA annual gathering in Vietnam would help ABA members know the country better. It would also help them identify business opportunities in the country.

Vietcombank Chairman and ABA Vice Chairman Nghiêm Xuân Thành said “Economies across the globe are connected and having a big impact on each other in many aspects, and this offers a lot of opportunities as well as challenges at the same time for banks in Asia, the region with the fastest growth rate in the world.”

 “I believe all the plenary sessions have provided useful and updated information about the banking industry both inside and outside Asia. They have also identified factors shaping the global economy in the future, impacts from changes in the regulatory environment, transformational changes in digital banking and growth drivers for global financial integration,” he added.​

This year’s conference examined issues that revolve around Asia’s growing influence in and integration with the global economy and its implications for Asian banks.  It attracted over 200 bankers from the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and other regions - composed mainly of  members of ABA, which has gathered more than 100 banks from 25 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. -- VNS