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13/08/2024
Ha Noi, August 13, 2024 - Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank, HOSE: SSB) and The Norwegian Investment Fund for developing countries (Norfund) officially signed a US$30 million loan agreement, which is convertible to common shares of SeABank within 4 years. This will enhance the Bank’s capital to better support small and medium enterprises (SMEs), retail banking customers, and micro-enterprises in Vietnam.
The signing ceremony marks the beginning of SeABank – Norfund partnership, sharing the common goal of driving economic growth and promoting financial inclusion. Two parties will work towards this by supporting Vietnamese businesses and the Bank's customers to access capital, improve capacity and focus on key business areas.
With this loan, SeABank will have additional resources to support financial access of Vietnamese SMEs and micro-enterprises, provide long-term capital for business growth demands; support the increasing demands for individual consumer lending. In addition, the Bank will launch programs targeting the unbanked and underbanked in Vietnam.
Speaking at the ceremony, Ms. Fay Chetnakarnkul - Regional Director (Asia), Norfund shared: “Norfund and SeABank share the common goal of promoting Vietnam's economic growth, focusing on financial inclusion for SMEs, micro-enterprises and retail customers. These are the driving groups of Vietnam's economic growth and are also our targeted groups. We expect that the cooperation between the two parties will make advancements in financial inclusion in Vietnam”.
Ms. Le Thu Thuy – Vice Chairwoman of the BOD, SeABank said: "On our sustainable journey, SeABank always strives to ensure equal opportunities for all individuals and businesses to access appropriate finance, thereby expanding business scale, improving living standards and further driving the economy. Norfund's support is of great importance to our journey, motivating and driving SeABank closer to its sustainable goals."
The US$30 million loan from Norfund has raised SeABank's total foreign mobilized capital to US$850 million. This including loans, credits, and trade finance from reputable international financial organizations such as DFC, IFC, and 5 financial funds, etc. This demonstrates the increasing trusts of international credit institutions for SeABank, affirming the Bank’s reputation, operational efficiency, and capital utilization efficiency.
Thanks to the capital sources, together with the existing internal capacity, SeABank will continue to provide flexible financial solutions, optimize capital utilization. The Bank will also put priority on diversifying and tailoring products and services for each segments, with special focus on SMEs, especially women-owned SMEs, micro-enterprises and retail banking customers.
