Two financial institutions under the French and Dutch governments invest 80 million USD in SeABank

The investment from Proparco and FMO has raised SeABank's total capital mobilized from the international market to nearly 1.1 billion USD, affirming the Bank's reputation, operational efficiency, and capital efficiency.

The signing of the cooperation agreement between SeABank and Proparco, FMO marks the beginning of a cooperative relationship, aiming to promote economic growth and financial inclusion by supporting Vietnamese enterprises to access capital, thereby improving capacity, focusing on promoting key business areas.

Accordingly, Proparco and FMO have decided to provide a loan of USD 80 million to SeABank, of which each party will provide USD 40 million. With this loan, SeABank will have more resources to support SMEs and women-owned enterprises to access finance and expand production and business. In addition, SeABank will also focus on promoting the application of international standards and best practices in environmental and social risk management and climate change response.

The signing ceremony was attended by the leaders of the parties, French Ambassador Olivier Brochet and Dutch Ambassador Kees van Baar.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Le Van Tan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SeABank said: “Taking customers as the center, SeABank has gradually become a financial consultant accompanying customers, ensuring equal opportunities for all individuals and businesses to access appropriate financial resources. With the support of Proparco and FMO, SeABank not only has more resources to provide effective financial solutions to customers but also demonstrates its efforts in supporting SMEs, women-owned businesses, and green activities to contribute to combating climate change. This is also one of the priorities in SeABank's sustainable development strategy”.

Mr. Olivier Brochet, French Ambassador to Vietnam said: “I am here today to witness the signing ceremony and express my support for Proparco's meaningful activities in the Vietnamese market. In the context of France and Vietnam upgrading their relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, we are committed to strongly supporting Vietnam's development. The cooperation between Proparco, FMO and SeABank this time is completely in line with the strategic direction, meeting the common commitments at the G7 Summit in 2024 and aiming to address the challenges of the new era through protecting the ecosystem and supporting SMEs, especially those owned by women”.

On the part of the Dutch Government, Mr. Kees van Baar, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Vietnam shared: “Along with France, the Netherlands is the largest investor and largest trading partner of Vietnam in Europe, aiming to promote the development of Vietnam, especially SMEs and women-owned enterprises. At the same time, the Netherlands also finds common strengths with Vietnam in abundant water resources to promote effective cooperation”. Mr. Kees van Baar emphasized the reason for choosing SeABank as a partner to implement development support activities in Vietnam: “SeABank has a very clear strategic orientation on providing products and solutions to support the development of private enterprises, SMEs and women-owned enterprises; at the same time, it has a reputation and extensive network to be able to implement effectively. I believe that FMO and Dutch enterprises, together with SeABank and companies in the ecosystem, will continue to have many opportunities for cooperation in the near future”.

The $80 million loan from Proparco and FMO has raised SeABank's total capital mobilized from international organizations to nearly $1.1 billion, including loans, credits, and trade finance from many prestigious international financial organizations such as DFC, IFC, AIIB, Norfund, and OPEC Fund... This shows that international organizations increasingly trust SeABank's reputation, operational efficiency, and especially the efficiency of capital use to support SMEs and women's businesses.

Information about Proparco

French Development Finance Institution - Proparco is a development finance institution of the French Development Agency (AFD) with a history of over 45 years of operation. Proparco regularly supports development in the private sector through loan financing, direct investment, and advisory support to private enterprises and financial institutions in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

Information about FMO

The Netherlands Business Development Bank (FMO), founded in 1970 and with a 51% stake in the Dutch Government, is a financial institution that supports sustainable private sector development in developing and emerging markets. FMO does this through investments in companies, projects and financial institutions that promote long-term growth and create positive impact.

Information about SeABank

Established in 1994, SeABank is one of the leading joint stock commercial banks in Vietnam with nearly 4 million customers, nearly 5,500 employees and 181 transaction points nationwide. SeABank's goal is to become a typical retail bank with a customer-centric strategy by providing a diverse system of financial products and services to individuals, small businesses and large enterprises. SeABank is considered one of the pillars in the banking system with a charter capital of VND 28,450 billion, ranked Ba3 by Moody's in many important categories, and is one of the first banks to implement Basel III international risk management standards.

According to the development strategy of "Digital Convergence", SeABank focuses on digitizing products and services as well as applying technology in internal operations and investing in building modern technology infrastructure to optimize processes, increase operational efficiency, bring customers a different experience of digital banking services, aiming to become the most favorite retail bank.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/hai-to-chuc-tai-chinh-thuoc-chinh-phu-phap-va-ha-lan-dau-tu-80-trieu-usd-cho-seabank-696850.html