The Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD) and Swift have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the goal of delivering efficiencies for the financial services industry of Vietnam with the use of Swift solutions.
Together, this initiative aims to advance the securities sector in Vietnam towards the goal of full automation of operational procedures and connectivity, reducing overall processing cost and time while eliminating the risk," explained Phuong Hoang Lan Huong, CEO of the VSD.
The work will focus on exploring benefits of implementing SWIFT solutions and services that would support the VSD's efforts to improve the efficiency of the financial markets in Vietnam. The implementation of this SWIFT connectivity solution for the VSD and its depository members means that the Vietnamese securities industry will be able to maximise operational and business gains by relying on an ISO international standards platform that supports Vietnamese market practices and regulations. With SWIFT's help under the MOU, the VSD hopes to implement a SWIFT connectivity solution to support the automation of the securities business processes between the VSD and its depository members.
Neil Stevens, Head of North Asia, SWIFT, believes that automation, standardisation, security and cost reduction are paramount for today's securities markets. "SWIFT has helped many customers and many countries to achieve increased efficiencies.
This too is our focus and aim for Vietnam," he says. "We are very pleased with the progress our Vietnamese customers have made towards automation and we are committed to support this trend and together, we can do much more! The signing of this MOU today sends a clear message to the global community that the VSD and SWIFT are raising the bar on automation for the Vietnamese securities market."
He adds, "Our commitment to Vietnam continues and is steadfast. This year marks an important milestone for Vietnam as a member country of SWIFT. In November 1994, some 15 years ago, the first Vietnamese customer connected to SWIFT, which was the State Bank of Vietnam. In those 15 years, the traffic in Vietnam has grown up to 35% per year."
Therep>There will be several phases to the work being done under the MOU in the coming year. The VSD and SWIFT will also work with the industry to determine the priorities for implementing equities registration, clearing & settlement, corporate actions and cross border messaging as their next steps.
Stevens points out that the MOU is a very important first step. "SWIFT is a community-inspired cooperative. That means that we will need to work with our customers to eliminate inefficiencies and offer opportunities for growth. We are committed to the VSD and the Vietnamese financial community. We believe we can add significant value."
It is hoped that 2009 will be a year of prolific success for the VSD and SWIFT. Stevens adds, "We know that our experiences with other countries will be useful and that cooperation will bring a successful and meaningful partnership between the VSD and SWIFT."