"Vietnam News" Posted by Samson Friday 6-12-2020
KTFA:
Samson: Vietnam : Central bank plans to pilot fintech regulatory sandbox
6th June, 2020
The State Bank of Việt Nam is planning to pilot a regulatory sandbox which would allow fintech companies to participate in providing some banking services starting from 2021.
The seven sectors fintech would participate in within the sandbox were payment, credit, peer-to-peer lending, customer identification support, open application programming interface (open API), tech-based solutions and other banking support services, according to the draft decree which the central bank made public for comment this week.
The central bank said that there was a lack of a legal framework to regulate the operation of fintech companies in Việt Nam, which created risks such as financial exclusion, security and data breach, money laundering and financing of terrorism, high intermediary fee and lack of transparency.
Meanwhile, fintech is developing rapidly in Việt Nam.
The central bank said that the past three years saw a rapid increase in the number of fintech start-ups, from 40 in 2016 to more than 150 currently. Of them, 34 operate in payment, 40 in P2P lending while others provided banking support services without directly collecting fees on end-users. More than 80 per cent of fintech companies in Việt Nam had operation related to banks.
The fintech sector also attracted significant attention of tech giants in Việt Nam like FPT, Viettel and VNPT through the foundation of fintech solution companies, investment funds and incubators to support fintech start-ups.
The central bank cited United Overseas Bank’s Fintech in Asean – From Start-up to Scale up Report 2019 that Việt Nam saw an investment inflow worth US$400 million into fintech last year, accounting for 36 per cent of the total investment poured in fintech in ASEAN and ranking second in ASEAN, only after Singapore. The rapid scale-up and operation expansion of fintech companies could have negative impacts on the stability of the financial and banking system, the central bank stressed.
The participation of Uber and Grab in the transportation market of Việt Nam was an apparent lesson for the financial and banking sector about how to respond to the rapid development of technology, the central bank said.
It was necessary for Việt Nam to have a legal framework for the operation of fintech companies amid Industry 4.0 and the country’s rapid international integration, the central bank said, adding that if the management agency was not active in monitoring the development of fintech from the early stage, their out-of-control development might pose threats to financial and banking stabilities.
The central bank’s task was to promote innovations in the banking sector, at the same time, ensure the financial safety and stability and promote economic growth. The central bank said that a regulatory sandbox would be suitable in the early stage before the issuance of the official legal framework. The decree was expected to be submitted to the Government for approval this month.
The central bank planned to allow banks and fintech companies to apply for the participation in the sandbox from 2021 and the sandbox would be piloted in one or two years, depending on each field.
Samson: Vietnam : Digital economy hoped to make up 20% of Việt Nam's GDP by 2025
9th June, 2020
A customer services centre which provides information and guidelines for customers to use online services of the electricity sector
Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has given the green light to a new digital programme to increase economic growth over the next five years. The plan is to develop a digital government, economy, and society and create digital technology businesses capable of extending their reach to the world. It is hoped this will account for 20 per cent of the country’s GDP by 2025 and at least 10 per cent of each sector.
Việt Nam also expects to be among the top 50 countries in the ICT Development Index and the Global Competitiveness Index, and one of the 35 leading countries in the Global Innovation Index (GII).
Eighty per cent of online public services at Level 4 – the highest level where every procedures from submitting information to payment will be fully available on the internet – will be provided via different devices, including mobile devices, while 90 per cent of dossiers submitted at the ministerial and provincial levels, 80 per cent of those at the district level, and 60 per cent of those at the communal level will be handled online by 2025.
All national databases that create the foundation for e-government development, including those on population, land, business registration, finance, and insurance, will be completed, connected, and shared nationwide. It is hoped this will help secure one of the top 70 positions in the E-Government Development Index (EGDI) over the next five years.
All Level 4 online public services will be available via multiple devices by 2030, which is also the deadline for all dossiers at the ministerial and provincial levels, 90 per cent of those at the district level, and 70 per cent of those at the communal level to be resolved online. The country is also looking to secure a place among the top 35 in the EGDI rankings over the next decade.
In the national programme, Việt Nam also plans to universalise broadband internet and 5G services, have over 80 per cent of its population using e-payment accounts, and become one of the top 30 countries in the Global Cybersecurity Index. LINK
Samson: PM welcomes energy giant Exxon Mobil’s investment in Việt Nam
12th June, 2020
Việt Nam welcomed the world’s energy giant Exxon Mobile’s plans of investing in Việt Nam, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc told president of Exxon Mobil LNG Market Development Inc Irtiza Sayyed during a phone conversation on Thursday.
He said Việt Nam was among countries that were able to contain the COVID-19 pandemic early and was striving to seize the opportunity for development. During the process, the country had great demand for power, so the Vietnamese Government welcomed Exxon Mobil’s investment in a complex of ports, LNG storage facilities and LNG-fuelled power plants using advanced technology in the northern port city of Hải Phòng.
Exxon Mobil was exploring the possibility of investing in new projects to develop LNG-to-power plants in Việt Nam, including a 4,000MW LNG-to-power plant in Hải Phòng which could start generating power between 2025 and 2030 and a 3,000MW gas-fired power complex in the Mekong Delta province of Long An.
The PM said the former project would help boost the development of not only Hải Phòng but also the entire northern key economic zone. Regarding the latter, Exxon Mobil would ensure stable LNG supply for the power complex imported from the US and other countries. The import of LNG from the US would contribute to a more harmonious trade balance between Việt Nam and the US, Phúc said.
Sayyed praised Việt Nam for containing the COVID-19 pandemic with effective measures, which he said would create a safe and reliable environment for international investment and trade in the country.