The Director of Personal Financial Services at UOB Vietnam said that the Vietnamese market is unique, with many strong competitors and more intense competition than other countries.
Mr. Paul Kim, Head of Personal Financial Services, UOB Vietnam. Photo: UOB
To seize opportunities, quickly conquer the market and rise to the position of the leading bank in ASEAN, UOB has long-term development strategies in this region. Mr. Paul Kim, Head of Personal Financial Services, UOB Vietnam, identified improving service quality, diversifying incentives, investing in digitalization and personalization for users in this region as the bank's future goals.
Mr. Paul Kim, Head of Personal Financial Services, UOB Vietnam, shares about the Vietnamese retail banking market. Video: Hoang Thanh
Opportunities from high competition
- How do you evaluate the retail banking market in Vietnam and the level of competition between international and domestic banks?
- "Fierce competition" is the phrase I think is most accurate when talking about retail banking in Vietnam. Currently, the country has about 49 domestic and international banks.
The advantage of state-owned banks is large market share. Next are privately owned joint stock banks. Both have grown strongly and quickly dominated the market in recent years.
For UOB, Vietnam is a strategic market with a long-term development plan. To compete with strong rivals, we always consider ourselves a domestic bank with the advantage of long-term experience in international markets. This is a point that domestic enterprises find difficult to achieve.
Thanks to that, we can quickly adapt, build a suitable digital investment strategy, and bring new experiences to domestic users. In addition, because it is still an international bank, UOB ensures to provide services that meet global standards. Human resource training policies and service styles are all researched and prepared to optimize the service experience for users.
Landmark deal
- Recently, UOB has officially completed the acquisition of Citibank's retail division in 4 countries, including Vietnam. What is the reason behind this deal?
- UOB has always paid special attention and focused on investing in business development activities in ASEAN over the years. Even when affected by the pandemic, we remained steadfast in this development direction.
According to Mr. Paul Kim, the acquisition of Citibank is an important turning point to help UOB soon achieve its 5-year growth target. Photo: UOB
There are many similarities between UOB and Citibank in terms of market segments, operating objectives, products and services, and customer base... The completion of the acquisition also helps UOB quickly expand its coverage network in the region.
The acquisition has seen UOB’s ASEAN customer base nearly double in just 18 months to approximately 7 million users. The business has expanded with the addition of 5,000 employees from Citibank, most of whom have experience, expertise and understanding of the local market.
These achievements are equivalent to UOB's five-year growth, and we achieved it through a single acquisition.
- How has UOB's customer base and position changed after the deal?
- In Vietnam, UOB has seen its loan book double and retail banking customers triple. It is now much larger than before. To meet the needs of both new and existing customers, we offer a more complete suite of products and services.
Existing customers can now enjoy products such as credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, auto loans, insurance products and better quality investments.
Recently, UOB also announced a cooperation with UOBAM Vietnam, bringing two ESG investment products with stable quality, contributing to limiting risks for high-end customers.
The acquisition has significantly contributed to UOB’s plan to expand its scale in ASEAN, creating opportunities to access and bring products and services to many new customers. This milestone will help UOB grow faster, doubling or even tripling its customer base. We expect to soon realize our goal of becoming one of the leading banks in the region and in Vietnam.
Upgrade and optimize utilities
- In addition to upgrading utilities and incentives, what is UOB doing to promote digitalization of the retail sector?
- Digitalisation is at the core of UOB's growth strategy and how we realise our goal of becoming the number one bank in ASEAN.
Mr. Paul Kim identified digitalization as the core of UOB's development strategy. Photo: UOB
We have invested heavily in technology platforms and digital solutions. UOB has invested nearly SGD500 million (over USD368 million) across ASEAN, including Vietnam, to build a database platform, applications and smart support solutions. The aim is to provide quality services, unique experiences and optimal security for customers.
We plan to spend more on building an integrated system for the merger as well as launching a new application for UOB. Customers are looking for convenience, they don’t want to go to the bank to do transactions. Now they can do it at home with just a few simple steps on the application. That’s what we will provide to customers.
Our digital strategy is not just about building a banking app. UOB is taking it to the next level by focusing on creating hyper-personalised experiences. All the benefits and offers we offer you are personalised to suit your needs and unique to you. That is how we are winning in this market and achieving our goal of being number one in the region.
Thy An
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