European banks eligible to own up to 49% stake in two Vietnamese peers: HanoiTimes

“The commitment’s validity is within five years,” said Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, director of the WTO Center and Integration under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in a conference on Wednesday. 

This commitment is not applicable to four state-run banks, including Agribank, VietinBank, Vietcombank, and BIDV. 

The acquisition process, however, must be in compliance with regulations related to M&A activities and competition law. 

In the insurance sector, Vietnam would open markets for reinsurance, life insurance and non-life insurance.

Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, director of the WTO Center and Integration speaks during the conference. Photo VNA

However, both EU and Vietnam have agreed upon a transition period before giving permission for EU reinsurers to establish their branches in Vietnam. 

In the telecommunication sector, there would be no significant change in the first five years after the EVFTA enters into force. The openness level would gradually increase and higher than Vietnam’s commitment in WTO in terms of foreign ownership ratio in joint-ventures. 

Trang added the EVFTA requires higher commitments from all parties concerned in fields of finance and telecommunication. She expected there would not be much of an impact in foreign investment activities in Vietnam. 

Overall the business environment is projected to remain stable for financial services, while in the telecommunication, commitments for improvement of governance mechanism, anti-trust competition protection would lead to more  transparent and predictable market environment, Trang continued. 

Trang cited previous study that the EVFTA is expected to help Vietnam’s GDP increase by 2.18 – 3.25 percentage points in the 2019 – 2023 period; 4.57 – 5.3 percentage points in 2024 – 2028; and 7.07 – 7.72 percentage points in 2029 – 2033. 
 

Source: HanoiTimes