Vietnam one of most important markets in the world: Visa CEO

Visa Inc., present in Vietnam for over 20 years, has always considered the country a most important market in the world, CEO Ryan McInerney told Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh Tuesday.

In a meeting held on the sidelines of the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, McInerney said Vietnam was developing in a dynamic manner, recording several technological and innovation achievements, especially in e-payment, which was one of Visa's strengths.

Therefore, Visa wanted to continue engaging more deeply with the country’s innovation and digital transformation process, McInerney said.

Visa, a world leading digital payment enterprise with revenues of $32.6 billion in 2023, has opened offices and innovation centers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Hailing Visa’s long-term investment strategy in Vietnam, PM Chinh asked the company to continue investing and engaging in the country’s innovation and digital transformation process, including cooperating with the State Bank of Vietnam on developing a comprehensive financial strategy.

He proposed that Visa launch high-tech solutions in different regions across Vietnam to ensure that financial services are accessible to everyone.

Noting that the country launched the National Innovation Centre (NIC) last October, the PM suggested the American giant strengthen cooperation with relevant Vietnamese agencies in supporting the development of programs for startup and innovation communities.

In another Tuesday meeting with the PM, vice president for global public policy of Amazon Web Services (AWS) Michael Punke said the company was helping Vietnamese firms in the fields of banking, finance, telecommunications, and manufacturing speed up their digital transformation process by providing them with cloud computing services.

Since 2017, Amazon has worked with universities to train some 50,000 Vietnamese persons in cloud computing skills, he said.

Amazon expects to join the Vietnamese government in formulating a policy that prioritizes the use of cloud computing, Punke noted.

He suggested the Vietnamese government takes more conducive actions to encourage businesses in the field of digital commerce and new services such as data centers/cloud computing and support cross-border data flows.

For his part, Chinh lauded Amazon’s proposal to cooperate with Vietnam and support the country in digital transformation, digital economy and digital society building.

He asked the firm to assist Vietnam with the building of network security solutions.

Chinh also suggested that Amazon helps Vietnam design training and sales programs for potential Vietnamese partners on Amazon platforms, increase collaboration with the NIC to promote trans-border export activities and promote Vietnamese trademarks on its e-commerce platform.