Context and Opportunity

Vietnam’s £500B export economy is one of Asia’s fastest growing, yet a £70B trade finance gap continues to be a constraint, especially for micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) which make up 97% of businesses. The existing limited infrastructure to assess credit visibility and risk mean that banks struggle to extend financing critical for business growth.

To address this, Growth Gateway, in partnership with the State Bank of Vietnam, the Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA), and UK Government officials in Vietnam, is supporting the design of Vietnam’s first Trade Finance Registry (TFR), a digital platform to improve transaction efficiency, reduce risk, and expand lending for MSMEs.

The TFR will support the development of Vietnam’s International Financial Centres (IFCs) in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang by enabling digitalisation, establishing data-sharing mechanisms among institutions, and setting up playbooks for sandbox operationalisation which are critical to foster financial innovations integral for IFCs.

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Key Opportunities

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Impact Achieved

Building blocks: Vietnam as regional finance hub

• The TFR will position Vietnam as a regional financial hub, focused on innovation to grow international trade integration

• Accelerated Vietnam’s progress towards establishing IFCs reliant on data sharing between international financial institutions

Elevating the UK to strategic partner and investor

• Positioned UK as trusted long-term partner in trade finance and fin-tech
• Catalysed the UK-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
• Deepened government & industry partnerships through co-development of trade finance solutions

Unlocked commercial opportunities for UK

• Unlocked £50M commercial opportunity for UK fintechs over 10-year period
• Positioned UK banks and fintechs (HSBC, Standard Chartered, Traydstream) as key partners in the region’s transformation
• Showcased UK expertise in financial mobilisation, linking development impact with commercial opportunity

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