Citibank, Vietnam postal savings firm in tie-up

Citibank signed a deal Tuesday with a subsidiary of the state-run Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group to provide local clients a range of banking products.
The deal will allow both corporate and individual clients of Vietnam Postal Savings Service Company make payments and transfers to firms banking with the US bank.

They can also carry out personal transactions like paying school and hospital bills using Citibank fund transfers and checks.

Citibank general director Charly Madan said there were plans to introduce an additional 800 desks to provide banking services in the country, adding that figure should eventually rise to 2000.

Citibank has branches in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and a nationwide partnership network that covers all of Vietnam’s 64 provinces.

The bank offers a wide range of banking services, including currency transactions, hedging, cash management including access to ATMs, trade services, short and medium-term loans in foreign currency and Vietnamese dong to state-owned enterprises, multinationals, financial institutions and private sector borrowers.

Citibank has recently launched its maiden domestic offering in the Vietnamese debt market, expecting it will help expand and develop the local long-term debt market.

The inaugural issue was a VND 400 billion (USD 22 million) floating rate issue with a tenor of two years and one day.

The issue marks the debut long-term negotiable certificate of deposit to be issued in Vietnamese dong. Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

The coupon resets every six months and will pay at a specified spread over a benchmark rate set by the bank. The issue is being targeted at local investors.

Citibank is a regular issuer in Asia’s debt markets, having issued in Hong Kong dollars, Singapore dollars and Thai baht in recent years.