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Timely measures taken

HDBank raises working capital, earmarks credit package
for customers hit by Covid-19.

espite the mounting pressure from the Bank’s brand value and business capabilities are Along with Vietnam’s sustainable growth,
Covid-19 pandemic on the local banking recognized by international investors. HDBank will continue to actively develop and ex-
D sector, some Vietnamese commercial Late last year it signed agreements to issue ceed ever-higher annual targets. To diversify its
banks have been determining plans for raising convertible bonds and entered into strategic tie- products and services and offer a better experi-
capital in order to ensure safe and effective oper- ups with foreign investors to accomplish a plan ence to customers, it has been developing a dig-
ations and recover their business performance to supplement its tier 2 capital by $160 million. ital banking strategy to use 4.0 technologies in
this year. HDBank in early March announced an in- Of them, DEG, a development finance institution its operations, called Happy Digital Bank. %
crease to its working capital of $71 million through owned by German State-owned development
a syndicated loan from a consortium of eight lead- bank, KWF, has invested $30 million in HDBank.
ing Taiwanese banks and an Indian bank, arranged HDBank has also entered into a number of
by Mega International Commercial Bank. loan agreements with global financial institu- Refinitiv, a London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)
business, has named HDBank among the Top 10
The additional capital will help HDBank meet tions such as JP Morgan Chase, the Industrial “Most Volume Traded Banks” in the winners of its
the needs of Vietnam’s economy and optimize its and Commercial Bank of China, and the Asian FX Trading Awards 2021 for Vietnam’s trading
efficiency in line with its new business strategies. Development Bank. After more than three community.
With target customers being small and medium- decades of growth, HDBank is now a leading With the implementation of a synchronous
and effective forex trading strategy in 2020, HD-
sized enterprises (SMEs) and foreign enterprises, bank in Vietnam and reaching out to the world. Bank has a large transaction volume on FX Match-
including Taiwanese, HDBank attracted the inter- Despite the challenges posed by Covid-19 last ing. According to Refinitiv, HDBank was ranked
est of Mega Bank, one of the four largest banks in year, HDBank posted positive business results, fifth in the Top 10 banks with the largest transac-
Taiwan, which then brought other banks on board with pre-tax profit reaching $253.6 million, or tion volumes on the FX Matching system in Viet-
and arranged the syndicated loan. 102.8 per cent of the target, and bad debts con- nam in 2020, out of 33 participating banks.
trolled well at a mere 0.93 per cent. To pro-actively The FX Matching Award is a longstanding and
prestigious award in the Asia-Pacific with clear and
Strong foundations help millions of customers overcome the effects
neutral criteria in the selection of winners. Refini-
HDBank has all the elements of a leading joint of the pandemic, the bank set aside $1.46 billion tiv’s award to HDBank is recognition of the bank’s
stock commercial bank in Vietnam, with an to provide preferential credit and to roll over loans. outstanding achievements in Forex trading on FX
ecosystem of 40 million customers in the finance, It also took timely measures to ensure the Matching in 2020.
aviation, retail, and insurance sectors. It has 308 safety and health of its customers transacting Since 2019, the FX Matching system has offi-
banking transaction points and the 19,500 con- business at its branches, effectively ensuring cially been used in Vietnam’s foreign exchange
market and approved by the State Bank of Viet-
sumer finance transaction points of HD SAISON, disease prevention and adapting to digital trans- nam. HDBank is one of the banks participating in
a market leader in terms of transaction network. formation trends. Even at the peak of the pan- FX Matching from the beginning and has gener-
These are also factors that help the bank demic, international credit ratings agency ated a large number of transactions on the system.
maintain its leading position in Vietnam and re- Moody’s maintained a “B1” rating for HDBank, With an FX Matching tool, HDBank has added a
assure reputable global financial institutions and appreciated its capital capacity, operational support tool to achieve business goals and assert
that it is a reliable investment destination. HD- efficiency, and growth potential. its position in the market over recent years.

44 | VIETNAM ECONOMIC TIMES | APRIL 2021