Swiss fund BlueOrchard invests $20 mln in Nam A Bank to support SMEs

BlueOrchard Finance, a Swiss global asset manager in impact investing, has agreed a $20 million loan for Nam A Bank to help the Vietnamese lender provide credit for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country.

TSW Capital Services Ltd., headquartered in India’s Mumbai, served as the Ho Chi Minh City-based lender’s advisor in the investment. The Indian capital consultant, with a focus on banking, microfinance, housing finance, infrastructure finance, and renewable energy, recorded the deal on its website in December.

Nam A Bank, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) in October 2020 as NAB, announced its 2022 business results on Monday. The lender’s 2022 profit before tax expanded 26% over 2021 to nearly VND2.27 trillion ($96.15 million). As of December 31, its total assets stood at almost VND180 trillion ($7.62 billion), up 16% year-on-year.

Nam A had almost 120 traditional transaction offices and nearly 100 ONEBANK digital transaction points across Vietnam at the end of last year, according to the report.

The bank started operations in 1992 as one of the first joint stock commercial banks established after Vietnam’s Banking Ordinance issued in 1990.

In December, Tran Ngo Phuc Vu, standing vice chairman of Nam A Bank, was appointed its chairman. He served as CEO from 2013 to 2015, and became standing vice chairman in 2019.

Meanwhile, BlueOrchard Finance says it serves customers worldwide, offering investment advisory, asset management, capital preservation, and financial planning services.

Hanoi-headquartered SeABank, a leading commercial bank in Vietnam, announced in January 2022 that the World Bank’s investment arm IFC and five international lenders had increased a loan package from $150 million to $220 million to support targeted lending to SMEs.

The five credit suppliers were Banque Internationale de Commerce-BRED, BlueOrchard, Kasikornbank, the OPEC Fund for International Development, and responsAbility Investments.