Vietnam Eximbank appoints new chair

Private Vietnamese lender Eximbank's board of directors named Do Ha Phuong as the new chairwoman in the 2020-2025 term on Wednesday to replace Luong Thi Cam Tu.

Phuong, 39, has more than 15 years working in finance and banking. She became an Eximbank board member this February.

Phuong has a master's degree in finance from the UK's University of Westminster and a bachelo's degree in accountancy from the U.S.'s George Mason University. She has held senior management and executive positions at domestic and foreign credit institutions.

From May 2007 to November 2011, she held the positions of tax consultant, auditor and senior financial consultant at EY. After that, she worked as a financial advisor for the representative office of Coffey International Development in Hanoi.

In December 2012, she was appointed director of financial structure, debt structure, and credit risk at Vietnamese private lender VIB, and held the position until December 2017.

Phuong then left VIB to join Lotus Finance Company Limited as a financial advisor. In May 2018, she co-founded VNInvest Partners Co. and was its CEO until 2023.

Eximbank recorded a pre-tax profit of over VND900 billion ($39 million) in the first quarter of 2023, up 16% year-on-year.

Speaking at the bank's annual general meeting of shareholders on April 15, chairman Tran Tan Loc said in 2023, its pre-tax profit is expected to grow 34.5% to VND5 trillion ($213 million).

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, Eximbank's EIB finished at VND21,000 ($0.89) on Thursday, up 0.96% against Wednesday.