BAC A BANK hailed for key role in hi-tech agriculture

BAC A BANK deputy general director Chu Nguyen Binh (right) received the award from the IDG representative

The bank received the “Best Bank in Sustainable Development for Community 2015” award for its excellence in financial and investment consultancy relating to hi-tech agricultural projects that have had wide-reaching benefits, both in local communities and nationwide.

The award was presented at the annual “Vietnam Outstanding Banking Products and Services Awards 2015” ceremony on November 17 in Ho Chi Minh City. The awards were presented by the IDG Data Group, and took place in tandem with a series of Vietnam Retail Banking Forum events, which were sponsored by the Vietnam Banking Association.

The aim of the “Vietnam Outstanding Banking Products and Services Awards 2015” is to highlight banks’ and banking service providers’ contributions to Vietnam’s financial-banking development and socio-economic development.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, IDG ASEAN general director Le Thanh Tam, said that “award winners at the Vietnam Outstanding Banking Awards 2015 have been eulogised for their great contributions to the community and the banking industry. BAC A BANK is such a bank. It has made remarkable contributions to the economy.”

Upon receiving the award, the bank’s deputy general Chu Nguyen Binh said that sustainable development for the benefit of the community had been a key job in BAC A BANK’s development strategy over past decades.

“We have held steadfast to this target in providing investment and financial consultancy for hi-tech agricultural projects. These projects have created safe and fresh products for many localities nationwide,” he said.

Established in 1994, BAC A BANK now has nearly 100 transaction points nationwide. The bank’s performance has been expanding annually, in terms of its total assets, mobilised capital, loans, investment and profit.

The bank currently has the chartered capital of VND 4.4 trillion ($204.65 million). At the end of this year’s third quarter, BAC A BANK’s assets totalled more than VND63 trillion ($2.93 billion).

Major projects

Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh said BAC A BANK had performed very well over the years.

“With its impressive growth, the bank will further develop. BAC A BANK is a trailblazer in providing loans for high-tech agricultural projects which are a key government priority,” Vinh said.

Specifically, BAC A BANK is the investment and financial consultant for TH Group’s $1.2 billion hi-tech dairy farm and fresh milk processing project, which in May 2015 was recognised by the Asian Record Organisation as “the largest concentrated hi-tech applied dairy farm complex in Asia”.

Employing 1,300 local workers, the project currently has 45,000 dairy cows, of which over 22,000 are milked. It is expected that the head of cattle will reach 137,000 by 2017, and about 203,000 by 2020. The fully automated plant uses technology from global leaders such as Afimilk, Siemens, Danfoss, and Grundfoss.

Previous to this project's implementation, 92 per cent of Vietnam’s milk was imported from abroad. Now, thanks to TH’s contributions, this figure has been reduced to 72 per cent, and has made TH true MILK a household name.

Not content to rest on their laurels as the country’s leading producer of fresh milk, TH Group has set their sights abroad. The group will build a $2.7 billion hi-tech concentrated dairy and fresh milk production project in Russia’s Moscow oblast, using the financial consultancy of BAC A BANK. The project, which will cover 140,000 hectares, will be deployed in three stages between now and 2025. Construction of the project, expected to be licensed in January 2016, is scheduled to commence in April 2016.

BAC A BANK is also the financial consultant for several other keystone national projects, including two projects under May Forestry JSC. Worth $500 million, these projects produce timber and medium-density fibreboard.

The bank is also the financial consultant for TH Herbals JSC’s project to produce medicinal herbs within an integrated production chain. The first medicinal herbal products were launched in Vietnam and the US in October this year.

Aside from these projects, the bank is also the financial consultant for many other hi-tech agricultural projects producing clean vegetables and fruit.

“Vietnam’s agricultural potential is huge and these projects are giving sustainable value to both enterprises and society,” said Thai Huong, general director of BAC A BANK, and chairwoman of TH Group.

The bank has also funded the construction of two international-standard “TH Schools” in Hanoi to the tune of VND1.1 trillion ($511.62 million).

Awards

As a result of its major contributions towards Vietnam’s economy, the bank has been commended by the government and ministries on several occasions.

Specifically, in September 2014, at the 20th anniversary of BAC A BANK, it was presented with a role model flag by the government, which also awarded Thai Huong a third-grade labour medal for her efforts in laying the foundation for Vietnam’s hi-tech agricultural industry. In March 2015, she was named by US’ Forbes magazine as one of Asia’s 50 most powerful businesswomen.