Statistics of the general Statistical Office showed that from the beginning of the year until September 20th 2019, the total newly registered capital, adjusted capital and contributed capital for share purchase of foreign investors was recorded at 26.16 billion US dollars, up by 3.1 percent over the same period of 2018.
In particular, the capital contribution and share purchase of foreign investors reached 6,502 times with a total value of 10.4 billion US dollars, up by 82.3 percent compared to the same period of 2018. Of these, there were 1,348 times of capital contribution and share purchase which increased charter capital of businesses with a total contributed capital of 6.34 billion US dollars; and there were 5,154 times foreign investors repurchasing domestic shares without increasing charter capital with a total value of 4.06 billion US dollars.
Along with the development and deep integration into the international economy through international commitments such as joining the Asean Economic Community (AEC), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the European Union Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), etc.; Vietnam’s ongoing amendments and supplement of many laws such as Investment Law, Enterprise Law, Securities Law and some other specialised laws; the Resolution on the new generation of foreign investment which is first promulgated by the Politburo for the first time to continue creating favourable, transparent, fair, safe and friendly investment and business environment, etc. will help Vietnam continue to attract foreign investment in many areas.
For the banking sector, in the recent time, the contributed capital of foreign investors, commercial banks have helped banks increase capital sources, developed new banking technologies, strengthened governance capability and human resource quality, thereby helping banks be more active in the integration process, increase competitiveness and conquer regional and international markets.
In addition to some large-scaled commercial banks such as Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) which have drawn attention of foreign investors, medium-scaled banks have also been interested by foreign investors because in addition to the attractive buying prices and the possibility to earn high profits, these banks are more flexible than large-scaled banks in retailing in niche markets those have great potential in the context of a fast growing economy like Vietnam.
Among the medium-scaled banks, National Citizen Commercial Joint Stock Bank (NCB) is a typical example. With total assets of 72.431 trillion dong, charter capital of four trillion dong and a plan to increase charter capital to seven trillion dong by the end of 2019 and to 10 trillion dong in the period of 2019 2020, NCB has made efforts and successfully restructured. It is now in the group of banks rated by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) for its safety and efficiency.
Over the years, NCB has welcomed many foreign investors who came to talk and seek cooperation opportunities. These investors all assessed that the bank has positive development potential in the future because its potential and advantages are in line with the future of banking business.
Particularly, NCB has a clear and creative retail banking development strategy. From 2013 to 2018, NCB’s deposit growth outperformed most banks in Vietnam. In this period, the bank’s outstanding loans doubled in both number and size. NCB provided credit to various fields and industries, such as real estate, construction, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, supply services, automobiles, etc. which are the strengths of NCB in the financial market. Thus, its size of customers grew at a high average level of 16.8 percent per annum. NCB targets to have about 50-55 percent of retail loans on total outstanding loans in the near future.
At the same time, NCB also positions itself to become a smart financial consultant, committed to providing fast, friendly and tailor-made financial services to each customers. So far, the bank is assessed to be strong in analysing, consulting and providing financial information to individual and corporate customers.
Another strength which support NCB’s retail strategy is that NCB has an evenly distributed network in strategic locations across the country with 24 branches and more than 90 transaction points (of which 30 points are for corporate customers). In addition, the bank also has over a workforce of over 2,000 qualified and skilful employers who are ready to switch to digital banking. The bank’s sales team is considered as understanding customers and the business community.
In the orientation of developing digital banking, infrastructure and technology are NCB’s top priorities. The bank always puts high attention to users’ experience in designing digital banking products, and developing superior applications. NCB’s products and services deployed based on NCB’s digital banking platform can be named as opening online accounts, opening online savings book, paying bills proactively and automatically, transferring money 24/7 on mobile applications, QR Code payment, online shopping.
With an effective and sustainable development strategy, NCB has focused on building a risk management system which complies with the SBV’s regulations towards meeting international standards under Basel II. Moreover, since being a member of the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), NCB is also highly appreciated by foreign investors for information transparency.
One of the breakthrough goals in 2019 of NCB is to increase capital and financial capacity through capital raising and successful cooperation with foreign strategic investors, and to rise to a scale in proportion to the new financial capacity.
With the above advantages, NCB is receiving special attention of some Asian investors who are highly interested in cooperating to seek potential profits from Vietnam’s market with nearly 100 million people.
