HSBC obtains official approval for local incorporation in Vietnam

8 September 2008

HSBC has obtained official approval from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to set up a Wholly Foreign Owned Bank (WFOB) in Vietnam, bringing the Bank closer to achieving its goal of incorporating locally and strengthening its position as a leading foreign bank in Vietnam.  

Thomas Tobin, CEO of HSBC in Vietnam, said: "We continue to increase our participation in Vietnam's economy and financial markets, and I am very glad to see that our commitment to the development of the financial sector has been recognised and supported by the authorities. This is a clear sign of the Government's strong commitment to the WTO and their recognition of the importance of a strong financial sector."

"We aim to start operating through our new local entity as early as possible and will actively work with authorities to complete the necessary business registration activities in the coming months. We hope to become the first foreign bank to operate a fully owned local entity in the fast-growing Vietnamese banking sector and look forward to opening a new chapter in HSBC's history in Vietnam."

Upon local incorporation, the new entity, HSBC Bank (Vietnam) Limited, will be headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City and will be 100 per cent owned by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, the founding and a principal member of the HSBC Group. The HSBC Group is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations. Thomas Tobin, President and CEO of HSBC's current operations in Vietnam, will be appointed President and CEO of the locally incorporated entity.

Mr Tobin added: "This is an important milestone in the Bank's 138 years of history in Vietnam. Local incorporation will allow us to have a broader distribution network to reach existing and new customers."

HSBC is one of the largest foreign banks in Vietnam. It also holds 10 per cent of the share capital of Bao Viet Holdings, Vietnam's leading insurer, and is in the process of increasing its stake from 14.4 per cent to 20 per cent in Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank), one of Vietnam's largest joint stock banks, with total assets of VND53 trillion (US$3 billion) at July 2008.

Media enquiries:
Neil Brazil
+44 20 7992 1572
neilbrazil@hsbc.com 

HSBC in Vietnam
HSBC first opened an office in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in 1870. The branch operated for over 100 years, until its closure in 1975. HSBC also opened an agency of the bank at Haiphong in 1884, which was upgraded to a sub-office at the beginning of the 1920s. This arrangement continued until the closure of the agency in 1954. The bank was able to revive its strong links with Vietnam when representative offices were opened in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in 1992. The Ho Chi Minh City representative office became a full service branch in 1995 and a branch was opened in Hanoi in March 2005. In December 2005, HSBC acquired 10% share capital of Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank), the third largest joint stock commercial bank in Vietnam by equity. The share capital at Techcombank was increased to 15% in July 2007. In September 2007, HSBC acquired 10% share capital of Bao Viet Holdings, Vietnam's leading insurer. These developments have strengthened HSBC's position as the largest foreign bank in the country in terms of investment capital, network, product range, staff and customer base.

The HSBC Group
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited is the founding and a principal member of the HSBC Group which, with about 9,500 offices in 85 countries and territories and assets of US$2,547 billion at 30 June 2008, is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations.