Emerging Markets
UOB Deepens Commitment To Vietnam

A number of banks and wealth managers, including those from outside the Asia region, have pushed into the Vietnam market in recent years. The country has been one of the brighter stars of emerging markets in Asia.
United
Overseas Bank is boosting its charter capital for its Vietnam
operations to VND5 trillion ($219 million) from VND3 trillion
following clearance from regulators in the Southeast Asian
nation.
The Singapore-based bank said that the charter capital increase
was part of its “long-term commitment” to Vietnam’s economic
growth. Approval for the move was granted by the State Bank of
Vietnam.
“We have grown from a representative office in 1993 to a
wholly-owned subsidiary bank in 2018. Over the last three years,
UOB Vietnam has grown steadily and achieved a 53 per cent
compounded annual growth rate in assets. The increased capital
base will enable us to support existing and new customers in
Vietnam through our progressive solutions and the connectivity we
offer across UOB Group’s regional network,” Wee Ee Cheong, deputy
chairman and chief executive, UOB, said.
As reported earlier this year, UOB Asset Management has
completed its purchase of VAM Fund Management.
The deal was another case of financial firms pushing into the
Southeast Asian country, seen as one of the brighter stars in the
region.
For its work with individuals, UOB has a strategic bancassurance
alliance with Prudential Vietnam Assurance, offering Prudential’s
life insurance products. For small- and medium-sized enterprises,
the bank’s digital unsecured lending programme, UOB BizMerchant,
offers online merchants access to collateral-free loans.
In 2021, UOB Vietnam also launched its inaugural Management
Associate Programme to nurture the next generation of banking
leaders in Vietnam.
This news service has tracked a number of Vietnam-related moves
by banks, wealth managers and other organisations over recent
years. See examples
here and
here.