Standard Chartered Vietnam Bank has a developing customer base and a growing financial balance sheet to finance production investments, thus helping Vietnamese businesses and people to develop economy and build communities, said Mr. Louis Taylor, CEO of Standard Chartered Vietnam Bank, in an interview granted to Vietnam Potentials (VCCI).
It has been nearly 3 years since you took over the position as CEO of Standard Chartered Bank (Vietnam). How do you feel about the economy and people in Vietnam? What is your impression over the time you work here?
For me, one of the striking things that differentiates Vietnam from other places is the optimism that you find across society, and the way people go forward in spite of all the ups-and-downs. It is also true to our business in Vietnam. Although the economic environment has been very difficult for most of the time I have been here, we have succeeded in growing our business by focusing on what we can do, and not on what we can’t do. I strongly believe that Vietnam is a country with the capacity to create growth in and across our markets on an attractive, meaningful scale over the coming decade. Of course, there are still a lot of challenges, but my experience in Vietnam is that the opportunities are always greater than the challenges.
What is your perspective toward the economy and the financial and banking sector of Vietnam as well as the investment attractiveness of Vietnam banking sector at the moment? Could you compare that with other countries in the region?
I can see that Vietnam remains an attractive investment destination. It is cost competitive, there is an ample supply of motivated labour, and a growing domestic market. But it is not without its challenges. The government and the SBV have done well to get the economy back on track. They have succeeded in stabilizing the macro-economy, curbing inflation, and increasing confidence in the currency. It has not been easy to get inflation down from 23% to around 6.5% as it is now, with interest rates coming down from 15% to 7%, the currency stable and foreign exchange reserves increased. That is what the State Bank and the Government have achieved, giving Vietnam the growing confidence among investors and the population in the stability of the economy. But the government still has a lot of work to do to achieve success in its aims of restructuring the banks, the SOEs and state investment. They've identified the right areas for reform. While things cannot happen overnight, I hope to see more rapid progress in the coming months.
Standard Chartered Bank (Vietnam) has been known as not only a leading banking in Vietnam but also a bank that has very specific strategy over sustainable development. Can you share about the experience of Standard Chartered regarding sustainable activities in Vietnam?
With over 150 years of experience in running banks in developing markets, Standard Chartered Bank's brand promise reflects our oldest beliefs and attests to our commitment of being “Here for good”. This means that we are Here for people, Here for progress and Here for the long run. Currently, we are bringing that brand promise from a global perspective to Vietnam where we have been operating for over 107 years and which we highly value as a developing market with huge potential.
We are now a locally incorporated bank, fully committed to this market. We follow a long term strategy in conducting our activities and are committed to developing a sustainable business. Our strategic sustainability provides a business model, market position, customer base, and an expertise that allows us to have confidence in our future in Vietnam. The growth of Standard Chartered in Vietnam in recent years has helped the Vietnamese economy to grow, and helped to develop communities and create jobs. We employ almost 700 people with huge potential, and we are developing their technical and leadership skills to realise more of their potential.
Our sustainability commitment is not only to our business, but also very much to our communities. We contribute towards protecting the environment and to having a positive impact on the societies where we live and work. We have been undertaking a range of activities through four pillars of our sustainability agenda: “Seeing is Believing”, “Living with HIV”, Environment and Diversity and Inclusion (D&I).
What will SCBVL do to utilize that strength in the coming time? What are the challenges facing the Bank at the moment?
For decades, the global banking industry has been very poor at advocating the social purpose of banking – to turn short-term deposits into long term investment in businesses and people who create the jobs and opportunities that make communities stronger, and which allow greater collective achievement. Here in Vietnam it is very easy to see the need for that socially responsible banking, and it is easy for Standard Chartered to demonstrate that we run our business in a socially responsible way, as well as a commercially attractive one. We take a long term view of the consequences of our actions and are committed to building a sustainable business in Vietnam. We have a growing client base, and a growing balance sheet that is funding investment in productive capacity, helping enterprises and people in Vietnam to grow the economy and build communities. That is in keeping with the values I stated before, and it is in keeping with our promise to all our stakeholders – to be Here for good.
Source: Vietnam Potentials
