Hanoi, Vietnam, January 24, 2011
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has invested $40.5 million in long-term capital in An Binh Bank, one of the Vietnam's 15 largest joint stock banks by assets. The investment will help strengthen the country’s banking sector and improve access to finance for small and midsize enterprises.
The investment package includes the purchase of a convertible bond worth 480 billion Vietnamese dong
and a straight bond worth 312 billion Vietnamese dong.
“IFC’s investment in the current unfavorable market conditions provides much needed long-term capital for An Binh Bank to pursue its portfolio growth and implement its capital increase plan in 2013,” said Vu Van Tien, An Binh Bank’s Chairman. “The investment reinforces the capital position of An Binh Bank and supports the bank’s efforts to strengthen its products and services with a focus on lending to small and midsize enterprises.”
Along with this investment, IFC will be advising An Binh Bank on issues such as corporate governance and energy-efficiency financing. Core to the advisory services agreement, signed in June 2010, is help in designing and implementing a strategy to develop An Binh Bank into a specialized bank servicing small and midsize enterprises, which remain an underserved segment of the Vietnamese economy. An Binh Bank is also participating in IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program to help extend trade finance to Vietnam’s importers and exporters.
“This investment demonstrates our commitment to the development of Vietnam’s banking sector,” said Karin Finkelston, IFC’s Director for East Asia and the Pacific. “IFC’s financing and advisory package will help An Binh Bank build its position as an important lender to small and midsize enterprises and other underserved market participants, thereby generating jobs and growth in the country.”
With this investment, IFC joins Malaysia's Maybank in helping strengthen An Binh Bank’s capital and operational capacity. Maybank became a foreign strategic investor in An Binh Bank with a 15 percent stake in 2008 and then increased its ownership to 20 percent in December 2009. In December 2010, Maybank purchased a 120 billion Vietnamese dong convertible bond and a straight bond worth 78 billion Vietnamese dong to maintain its 20 percent stake in An Binh Bank.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
