VFC Director Nguyen Ngoc Ban said the firm was established in 1978, when Vietnam had just begun post-war reconstruction and economic development efforts. At that time, the payment in US dollar between Vietnam and other countries was particularly difficult as Vietnam hadn’t had many relations with international banks and the US imposed embargos on the country.

Therefore, the VFC acted as a financial intermediary between Vietnam and the world when it supported the country’s export, import and other external economic activities. It was also a channel for mobilising capital in foreign currencies, transferring remittances, and providing credit and funding activities serving reforms and economic development in the homeland, he noted.

Nghiem Xuan Thanh, Chairman of the board of director of the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) – which wholly owns the VFC, lauded the company’s contributions to the realisation of his bank’s vision and strategic targets.

He added Vietcombank aims to become the No.1 bank in Vietnam, one of the 100 biggest banks in Asia, and one of the 300 largest financial-banking groups in the world.

The VFC was granted with the establishment certificate in Hong Kong on February 10, 1978 with the registered initial capital of 5 million HKD (US$637,000).

Hong Kong accommodates many leading financial organisations of the world. Vietcombank is currently the only financial-banking institution of Vietnam in this Chinese territory.