GIB Global Investment Digital Bank To Bid For Digital Banking Licence in Vietnam

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HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM / ACCESSWIRE/ June 24, 2021 / Leading Hong Kong-based investment bank, GIB Global Investment Digital Bank today announced its intention to enter the digital banking space in Vietnam. The company will tie up with a Vietnamese telco company Vimo and local payments provider to submit an application for a digital banking licence this year.

"GIB Global Investment Digital Bank is excited to announce our intention to apply for a digital banking license in Vietnam through our partnership with Vietnamese telco start-up Vimo and e-payments provider GPay by GCG Asia. We are eager and hopeful for our entry into digital banking in the South-East Asian region," said GIB Global Investment Digital Bank's Chief of Digital Global Banking Norman Wong.

Governments in South-East Asia from Singapore to Malaysia have been racing to devise regulatory frameworks to liberalise the banking sector for new digital entrants. Singapore is among the first to announce digital banking licenses in the region. Malaysia is expected to announce the award of digital banking licenses next year. GIB Global Investment Digital Bank, has put in application through partners in the latter country.

In Vietnam, fintech startups planning to offer digital banking services must be offshoots of legacy banks and financial institutions to effectively hold a digital banking licence. "Vietnam's young, digitally savvy population is fast growing and showing huge demand for digital financial and banking services. GIB Global Investment Digital Bank's review of the fintech landscape showed that the use of e-commerce apps accelerated during the pandemic, as well as digital payments which jumped 70% in the first quarter of 2020. This tells us that there's tremendous potential,"said GIB Global Investment Digital Bank's Chief of Digital Global Banking Norman Wong.

He further explains that GIB Global Investment Digital Bank is looking at the larger picture of establishing a digital ecosystem anchored by a range of services with a bank, then expanding via offshoots of ancillary services such as insurance, asset management, peer-to-peer exchange lending, credit scoring and more.

"This is the model pioneered by the Chinese fintech giants Tencent and Alibaba, and is one that makes sense to us as a financial institution in order to expand our reach. It's a challenging one, but as mentioned, we are bullish on prospects," said GIB Global Investment Digital Bank's Chief of Digital Global Banking Norman Wong.

The GIB Global Investment Digital Bank is positive about the outcome and partnership with Vimo, even though the sector is still nascent and dominated by large legacy institutions who are rapidly launching their own digitisation initiatives in Vietnam. Though competition may be steep with banks rushing to launch digital products, GIB Global Investment Digital Bank's Norman Wong explained that Vietnam's vast majority are still underserved by the traditional banking sector. "As a bank, we want to promote financial inclusion for the youth of South-East Asia and Vietnam is the ideal country for us to do this. And we are comfortable playing the position of challenger and disruptors for traditional Vietnamese banks," he said.

Tapping into Vimo and GPay's strong customer base is key for a successful bid. GIB Global Investment Digital Bank's Wong would not divulge who would be the financial institution partner in their consortium but added that it will be revealed very soon. "We are tying up the loose ends and firming up our plans in preparation to unveil our vision for digital banking in Vietnam. Rest assured it will be worth the wait," he said.

Meanwhile, GIB Global Investment Digital Bank has its eye on the Malaysian bid which it also is hopeful will be successful, although it is aware that the vast number of applicants for the digital banking license means that competition is steep. Nevertheless, Wong said that the GIB Global Investment Digital Bank has earmarked sizable capital investments for growing its digital banking businesses and is moving rapidly to seize other opportunities in the region.

Company Information

GIB Global Investment Digital Bank is a leading investment and financial services and capital trust company based in Hong Kong.

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SOURCE: GIB Global Investment Digital Bank