By Arno Maierbrugger/Gulf Times Correspondent/Bangkok
Qatar National Bank (QNB) will open a representative office in Vietnam’s economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City on March 30, it was revealed by Qatar’s new ambassador to Vietnam Abdullah Sultan al-Hamar at his inauguration visit to Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Wednesday.
The branch will be followed by another one in the capital Hanoi “in the future”, the ambassador said.
The opening of the first QNB office in Vietnam comes after the bank received a licence from the State Bank of Vietnam in September 2014. The representative offices will function as a “liaison entity to make market research and promotion of investment projects of QNB in Vietnam”, the state bank announced. It will also “promote and monitor the implementation of the contracts and agreements signed between the QNB and credit institutions and businesses, and QNB-financed projects in Vietnam,” the announcement read.
Al-Hamar also said that he has been tasked with further developing bilateral ties between Qatar and Vietnam, which includes seeking more large-scale project beyond the $1bn-plus capital investment made by Qatari investors in Vietnam so far, an amount with which they were “not satisfied.” The ambassador emphasised that Qatar is supporting Vietnam’s economic reform efforts and its bid for seats in United Nations agencies.
In turn, the Vietnamese prime minister invited Qatar investors to buy stakes in equitised firms, become strategic stakeholders in major commercial banks, and vie for bids to operate airport, seaport and highway facilities in the country. Vietnam is currently undergoing a major privatisation programme that includes hundreds of state-owned companies which are to be transformed into stock companies and will partly be listed at the stock exchange. These companies include financial institutions, infrastructure companies, telecom and shipping operators, mining firms and others. For example, Vietnam will open 41 marine infrastructure projects to private investors, including 19 seaports, which are together expected to need $1.98bn in private funding.
Furthermore, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines is seeking strategic partners to sell 20% of the company and the government will reduce its stake to 75% from 95%. The airline will operate as a joint stock company starting April 1.
However, the road to privatisation has been bumpy so far in Vietnam, with few investors picking up shares and some companies being equitised, but not listed. But analysts believe that after flagship companies such as Vietnam Airlines succeed in the process, it will gain traction.
The prime minister also suggested that Qatar should “create conditions to facilitate the exports of Vietnamese goods,” and the two countries should soon organise an inter-government meeting to further foster trade and cooperation ties. He also asked Qatar to offer additional official development assistance to impoverished areas in Vietnam as well as strengthen collaboration across labour, finance and banking.
Investments of Qatar firms in Vietnam include a number of real estate development projects by Qatari Diar including multi-purpose facilities, residential and commercial projects and some hotels in Vietnam. Qatar is also investing in the oil and gas sector through Vietnam’s Long Son Petrochemical Complex where Qatar Petroleum holds a stake of 25%. The two countries last year also held the first meeting of the Qatari-Vietnamese joint committee for economic, trade and technical co-operation.
