Agribank Signs US$1-Bln Contract with BNP Parisbas

The Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam (Agribank) October 1 inked a contract in Paris to borrow US$1 billion from the French leading bank, BNP Parisbas, state media reported Oct 3.

 

The deal was signed during Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s four-day visit to France.

 

The capital will be used to reform Agribank’s financial performance and fund its key projects to import equipment from Europe.

 

Agribank also clinched other agreements worth US$500 million with Cambridge Research Institute and the U.S.’s leading financial group Merrill Lynch to develop coffee cultivation project in Vietnam. The project is aimed to improve coffee quality for exports to big markets in the world.

 

Since the start of the year, Agribank has signed up to US$3 billion in foreign investment deals. The unlisted bank plans to begin its privatization next year.

 

Agribank is now the biggest state-owned bank in Vietnam in terms of registered capital of VND7.2 trillion (US$450 million) and operation network with 2,200 branches and transaction points nationwide, employing 30,000 officials. (Labor, VNA, Agribank)