Two financial institutions from France and the Netherlands invest 80 million USD in SeABank

On March 24, in Hanoi - The French Development Finance Organization (Proparco) and the Dutch Enterprise Development Bank (FMO) signed a cooperation agreement to invest 80 million USD in the Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank, HOSE: SSB) to supplement capital to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), women-owned enterprises, and at the same time promote the application of international standards and best practices in environmental and social risk management, and combating climate change.

The investment from Proparco and FMO increased 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 ceremony was attended by the Leaders of the Parties, French Ambassador Olivier Brochet and Dutch Ambassador Kees van Baar.

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 decided to provide a loan worth 80 million USD to SeABank, of which each party will provide 40 million USD. 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.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Le Van Tan - Chairman of the Board of Directors of SeABank said: "Taking customers as the center, SeABank gradually becomes a financial consultant accompanying customers, ensuring equal opportunities for all individuals and businesses to access suitable 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 help combat 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 a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, we are committed to strongly supporting Vietnam's development.

The cooperation between Proparco, FMO and SeABank this time is completely within the strategic direction, meeting the common commitments at the G7 Summit in 2024 and aiming to address challenges in the new era through protecting the ecosystem and supporting SMEs, especially women-owned businesses.

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 female-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 female-owned enterprises; at the same time, it has the 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 brings 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, especially the efficiency of capital use to support SMEs and women's businesses.

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