Standard Chartered Vietnam appoints Michele Wee as new CEO

Michele Wee, the newly-appointed CEO of Standard Chartered Vietnam

A seasoned banker with over 25 years of industry experience, Michele joined Standard Chartered in 2011 as Global Head of E-commerce Sales to build an e-commerce business distribution channel for the bank’s Financial Markets (FM) clients. Prior to her appointment as CEO of Vietnam, she was the head of FM for Singapore, Australia, and Brunei, in which she was responsible for the development and execution of these markets’ FM strategy.

“Vietnam is an important market for our global network with significant opportunities to develop our businesses with universal banking capabilities. My key focus will be on providing valuable support and benefits to our clients, regulators, and the communities, building on our unrivalled local knowledge and international expertise,” Michele said.

“Despite the unprecedented challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam continues to offer exciting business and investment opportunities given its strong fundamentals of a young, dynamic, and tech-savvy population, a growing domestic market, a rising middle class, and an open economy. The country has been an investment magnet for many years and holds great growth potential for the future. I look forward to working with my Vietnam team and relevant stakeholders to support Vietnam’s sustainable development,” she added.

Michele takes over the reins from Nirukt Sapru who was appointed as CEO for Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia in 2013, and in 2015 took on the expanded role as the regional CEO for ASEAN and South Asia cluster markets including Australia, Brunei, Nepal, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. Under his leadership, Standard Chartered Vietnam has recorded strong growth in all business segments and made valuable contributions to Vietnam’s economic development process.

Standard Chartered is one of the first international banks to establish a presence in Vietnam, having set up its first branch in Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, in 1904.

The bank provides a full suite of banking products and services for corporates, financial institutions, as well as small- and medium-sized enterprises and individuals. It also plays an active role in building the communities through many programmes that promote social and economic development focusing on health, youth, and financial education.

The global ratings agency Fitch recently rated Standard Chartered Vietnam BB and BBB- for its long-term issuer default foreign currency rating and local currency rating respectively. These ratings are capped by Fitch’s country ceiling of BB for Vietnam and would typically represent the highest possible rating for a bank operating in Vietnam. The outlooks on these ratings are stable.