Vietnam’s Eximbank banks on new leadership with EVN Finance experience

Eximbank has appointed several senior executives with prior experience in the ecosystem of EVN Finance, the financial wing of state utility Vietnam Electricity, in its bid to arrest and reverse recent declines.

The latest such appointment is that of acting general director Nguyen Hoang Hai, who has proved his mettle as CEO of EVN Finance.

Hai took over his new role Tuesday, replacing Tran Tan Loc, who resigned for "personal reasons".

Earlier in August, Hai was appointed standing deputy general director of Eximbank, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as EIB, for a three-year term.

Hai is well known for his accomplishments at EVN Finance (HoSE: EVF) with whom he worked for nearly 10 years, holding many important positions including acting CEO and CEO cum board member and legal representative.

This was a period that marked outstanding growth in profits and asset values of the financial company.

Notably, EVN Finance has had a close relationship with the Amber Holdings ecosystem. As of June 2023, Amber Capital Holdings JSC had VND124 billion ($5.08 million) in term deposits with EVN Finance, and owned VND265 billion ($10.86 million) in certificates of deposit issued by the latter.

The relationship between the two parties goes even deeper, with EVN Finance providing credit for the Amber Holdings group and related legal entities for many years. This explains the rapid rise of this secretive private corporation, especially in the field of renewable energy.

Hai is the fourth executive related to the EVN Finance - Amber Holdings link to assume a key leadership position at Eximbank.

The bank’s 2023 extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (EGM) elected Nguyen Canh Anh, 44, as a board member on September 18. Since August 2021, Anh had been CEO of Amya Holdings JSC - a legal entity within the Amber Holdings ecosystem.

Tran Anh Thang was elected as an independent member of the board at another EGM in February, and Doan Ho Lan was elected as a part-time member of the supervisory board at the 2023 annual general meeting of shareholders.

Thang, 39, is also chairman of Amber Capital Holdings JSC, while 42-year-old Lan serves as CEO of Amber Fund Management JSC.

These "links" of the Amber Holdings group are also more or less related to famous businesswoman Luu Thi Tuyet Mai, CEO of Vietnam’s leading consumer goods distributor Mesa Group.

Tuyet Mai and Mesa Group are said to be big players at Eximbank for many years. Mai holds a large stake in Thanh My Loi JSC - subsidiary of a listed real estate group that once nursed an ambition to own Eximbank.

In addition to holding the highest positions in Eximbank’s executive board, the team related to EVN Finance - Amber Holdings holds two of seven seats in the board of directors and one of three positions on its supervisory board.

In the first six months of the year, Eximbank earned net interest incomes of VND2.33 trillion ($98.2 million) and after-tax profits of VND1.41 trillion ($59.2 million), down 12% and 26% year-on-year, respectively.

As of June 30, 2023, its total assets stood at VND190.3 trillion ($8 billion), up 2.8% compared to the end of last year, with a modest 1% increase in loans.

Eximbank's deposits of VND154.28 trillion ($6.5 billion) was 3.8% higher than the end of last year, equal to 117% of its outstanding loans.

The bank expects pre-tax profits to grow 34.5% year-on-year to VND5 trillion ($213 million) this year.

On the stock market, Eximbank's EIB closed Friday at VND17,050 ($0.7), while EVN Finance’s EVF hit VND11,600 ($0.48).