On December 13th, 2019 in Hanoi, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) held a year-end meeting with the international financial/monetary organizations, diplomatic missions, bilateral and multilateral development partners, and foreign credit institutions (CIs) in Vietnam, as well as foreign experts who have working relations with the SBV.
The meeting was attended by the SBV Board of Management, leaders of the Departments, agencies and units under the SBV, together with representatives of many international organizations, embassies, bilateral and multilateral partners and foreign CIs in Vietnam; representatives of the international financial/monetary institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), etc.
Addressing the Year-end Meeting, Governor Le Minh Hung of the State Bank of Vietnam extended his warmest greetings for the coming festive season and best wishes for the New Year 2020 to the distinguished representatives from the international monetary and financial organizations, the diplomatic missions and the foreign CIs in Vietnam. On behalf of the SBV Board of Management, the SBV Governor expressed high appreciation for the valuable support from the international monetary and financial organizations like the WB, the IMF, the ADB, the bilateral and multilateral development partners, and the foreign CIs toward the Government of Vietnam (GoV) in general and the SBV in particular.
“Given various external and internal challenges, Vietnam's economy has achieved remarkable results. During the eleven months of 2019, the GDP growth reached almost 7 percents, and is expected to be higher than the 6.8 percent target,” SBV Governor Le Minh Hung shared. “The average inflation rate stood at 2.57 percents, the macroeconomic stability has been strengthened and the growth momentum has been maintained with encouraging results from the implementation of the reform agenda in key economic sectors.”
The banking sector has made important contributions to the macroeconomic stability and the high economic growth. The exchange rates have been kept stable, the inflation and the interest rates have been managed appropriately to support the businesses and the economy. The accumulation of foreign exchange reserves to a record level in 2019 shows the ever-increasing confidence in the policies of the Government and the SBV, hence facilitating other macroeconomic policies in attracting foreign investment, improving the economy’s resilience against possible shocks, and heading toward sustainable development.
In addition to maintaining the macro stability, Governor Le Minh Hung emphasized that “Encouraging results have been seen in the bank restructuring and resolution of non-performing loans. The SBV has continued to improve its policies, mechanism in order to enhance prudential standards in the banks’ performances in line with the international best practices, improving corporate governance and risk management. At present, 18 banks have adheredto Basel II standards ahead of the set deadline. Non-performing loans have been sharply cut and controlled at a low level, while disciplines in banking activities have been strengthened, helping to raise the public confidence and stabilize the banking and financial systems.”
According to the SBV Governor, the said achievements could not have been made without the valuable support from all foreign partners, international organizations, embassies and diplomatic missions to the GoV in general and the SBV in particular in providing, coordinating assistance under various programs, projects, policy consultations, including economic policies. The SBV Board of Management has very high evaluation for the role of the foreign CIs in maintaining good compliance with the regulatory requirements, sound and safe performance, helping to promote good practices, rule-based operations and the code of conduct in the sector, contributing significantly to the soundness and stability of Vietnam’s banking and finance system. Their joint efforts have helped enormously in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) and in communicating Vietnam’s policies to the international community, thus helping to facilitate the international integration of the banking system in particular and the whole economy in general.
Mr. Ousmane Dione – WB Country Director for Vietnam speaks at the Meeting
Mr. Konaka Tetsuo - Chief Representative of JICA Office in Vietnam speaks at the meeting
At the meeting, Mr. Ousmane Dione, WB Country Director for Vietnam, congratulated on the achievements of Vietnam in the recent years in the fields of socio-economic development. In particular, the WB Country Director also congratulated the SBV on the successes made in 2019. Mr. Ousmane Dione realized that the banking industry has made an important contribution to maintaining the macroeconomic stability in the context that the global and regional economy has tendency of recovering, but there are still many challenges and potential risks.
“The economy continues to show stability in the context of increasing global volatility and uncertainty. In the latest economic outlook update, the WB has revised Vietnam's growth forecast from 6.5% to about 6.8% for 2019 - and this shows that Vietnam is one of the economies with the highest growths in the region and the world,” said the WB Country Director for Vietnam.
Mr. Francois Painchaud - Resident Representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Vietnam. speaks at the meeting
Mrs. Natalia Ansell - City Country Officer for Vietnam cum President of AmCham in Hanoi deliveres a speech at the meeting
At the meeting, the representatives of the international financial/monetary organizations and the foreign CIs spoke highly of the SBV's efforts in leading the implementation of the financial inclusion agenda, finalizing on time the formulation of the national financial inclusion strategy. These institutions also re-affirmed their support and commitments in further accompanying the SBV in promoting financial inclusion in Vietnam, while expecting that the national financial inclusion strategy will soon be implemented in 2020.
The year 2020 is approaching with new opportunities and challenges. The GoV stays consistent with maintaining the macroeconomic stability, accelerating the reforms of key areas and renovating the growth model in order to accomplish the 2016 – 2020 Socio-Economic Development Plan. Governor Le Minh Hung affirmed that the SBV would continue to manage the monetary policy in a cautious and flexible manner, and in good coordination with other macro-economic policies, enhance the supervision over the banking system to maintain financial and monetary stability, and improve the business environment. The SBV Governor believed that all of the international financial/monetary organizations, as well as the foreign CIs would continue to join hands and support the GoV and the SBV in a new course for new successes.
2020 will be the year of Vietnam’s ASEAN Chairmanship with special events under the ASEAN Financial Cooperation Framework. The GoV and the SBV look forward to welcoming the leaders of states and governments, the international organizations, the foreign credit institutions and all international financial/monetary organizations as well as foreign CIs to join the series of events in ASEAN 2020.
VA