As global supply chains shift, what advice do you most often give Vietnamese companies planning to expand overseas?
The global landscape is shifting; supply chains are diversifying; trade corridors are being redefined; and new ecosystems are taking shape. In this context, Vietnamese corporates have a remarkable opportunity to move up the value chain and become integral players in regional and global networks.
Therefore, Standard Chartered’s advice to Vietnamese corporates is built on three pillars: environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities, digitalisation, and resilience through market diversification.
ESG is no longer a competitive advantage. It has become a prerequisite across the supply chains of multinational corporations. Many Vietnam corporates have started to embed it in their business operations. We believe that successful integration starts with a clear and structured approach:
* Define ESG priorities that are most material to the company business model.
* Establish a robust ESG framework: Align your strategy with international standards, set measurable targets, and integrate these into business planning and financing decisions.
* Strengthen governance: Ensure senior management oversight of ESG performance, assign clear accountability, and maintain transparent disclosure.
* Enhance financial and ESG reporting: Integrate ESG metrics into financial and sustainability reports to provide a holistic view of performance and impact.
* Invest in employee awareness and training.
Standard Chartered has been on this journey as well. We started by embedding ESG in how we operate and how we support our clients. Guided by our Sustainability Framework, we are committed to mobilising $300 billion in sustainable finance by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions in our operations by 2025 and financed emissions by 2050.
Other key focus areas are digitalisation and resilience. According to Standard Chartered ‘Future of Trade: Resilience’ report, digitalisation and resilience are highlighted as key priorities for companies navigating a turbulent trade environment. This report found that companies are increasingly focusing on digital solution, such as AI, to improve supply chain visibility and management while realigning supply chains geographically to enhance resilience.
Standard Chartered has presence across 54 markets. Our Vietnam operation's key corridors include US, ASEAN, and North Asia. We aim to be the trusted partner that enables Vietnamese businesses to expand into these strategic corridors sustainably and responsibly.
Besides companies, individuals can also leverage on our network through Standard Chartered’s Affluent and International Banking solutions. We aim to meet the sophisticated wealth and cross border needs of our clients while serving the growing wealth segment in Vietnam.
Can you share an example in Vietnam where sustainable financing was directly linked to a client meeting predefined ESG targets?
Standard Chartered has been a trusted partner in Vietnam for many years, combining global expertise with deep local insight. In 2019, Standard Chartered Vietnam successfully arranged the Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation's (REE) inaugural US$100 million bond issuance, a fixed-rate, 10-year bond in which the full principal is repaid at maturity.
The proceeds have supported REE’s expansion and developments of its buildings in Ho Chi Minh City, including the partial construction of Etown 6 - the first Grade A green building with LEED Platinum Certification.
Another example is our green loan to support the first-phase construction of EMASI Plus Waterpoint School in Long An province.
This loan was used to develop school buildings that incorporate more sustainable elements and are on track to obtain the globally recognised EDGE certification – a global standard for diversity, equity, and inclusion – and are also expected to receive LEED certification at completion.
By aligning financing with measurable ESG outcomes, we help Vietnamese businesses transition responsibly and unlock long-term value. Our 120-year presence in Vietnam positions us as a leading bank in embedding ESG into corporate and financing strategies.
Could you highlight a specific example of how your corporate responsibility programmes are strengthening Vietnam’s small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) ecosystem?
SMEs are the backbone of Vietnam economy, and supporting them has been central to our purpose of driving commerce and prosperity.
We launched the Standard Chartered Women’s International Network (SC WIN) last July, a global initiative designed to empower women entrepreneurs by addressing financial and non-financial barriers to help their businesses thrive.
This marks a significant milestone in our bank’s commitment to fostering inclusive economic growth in Vietnam, particularly for women-led SMEs.
SC WIN was established to provide comprehensive support to women entrepreneurs through three key pillars: delivering products tailored to various business development stages, creating platforms to connect markets, client communities, suppliers and entrepreneurs across different regions, and assisting SMEs in formulating development and expansion strategies.
As transaction banking becomes more central in the digital economy, which capability are you prioritising in Vietnam to stay competitive – cash management, trade finance, or APIs?
Transaction banking is one of our strongest growth engines and a true differentiator for Standard Chartered. Our focus is on digital connectivity – creating a seamless bridge between clients’ treasury systems and our global banking infrastructure.
In my view, all the factors you’ve listed are key digital capabilities that we are prioritising. At the core of this is the use of APIs – secure digital connections that allow our clients’ systems and our banking platforms to communicate automatically, in real time, without manual intervention.
Through our Open Banking capabilities, we enable clients to gain real-time visibility of their cash positions, automate collections and payments, and integrate trade and supply chain financing directly into their resource planning platforms.
With the rise of API banking, instant payments and blockchain settlements, ‘always-on’ treasury operations and real time cross-border transactions are fast becoming a reality. This paves the way for the rise of a wide range of innovative treasury management use cases.
In Vietnam, we are continuously building on our existing digital cash management capabilities to support our clients’ needs and contribute to overall growth and development in the market.
We were the first international bank to roll out instant payments in Vietnam. Today, we offer a range of API solutions in the market. Globally, we have 368 ready-made APIs and solutions that we can tap into to serve our clients in Vietnam.
The global rollout of ISO 20022 is creating a shared, structured and interoperable data language, laying the foundation for a common, advanced financial language that enables interoperability across ecosystems.
In Vietnam, we have recently rolled out our new payment platform, SCPAY, which is ISO 20022 compliant. This new platform enhances our ability to act faster and deliver greater efficiency – ensuring we serve our clients better in a rapidly changing business landscape.
Vietnam is one of Standard Chartered’s priority markets globally, where we offer a comprehensive range of retail banking products across three distinct client segments: SMEs, affluent and international banking, and mass affluent.
In the mass affluent segment in particular, we are well positioned to capture opportunities created by Vietnam’s rapidly expanding middle class. We are doing so by scaling through strategic digital partnerships, sharper use of data and analytics, and state-of-the-art digital platforms – enabling us to extend access to tailored financial solutions and deepen engagement with a broader, digitally connected customer base.
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