MoF welcomes BRED Banque Populaire's activities in Vietnam

At Montreau Park, a suburb of Paris, Minister Thang and the delegation respectfully laid flowers in memory of President Ho Chi Minh in Montreau Park and observed a minute's silence.

They also visited the Ho Chi Minh Space located in the Living History Museum, where precious relics of President Ho Chi Minh's revolutionary activities in France in the early 20th century are preserved. Thomas Le Golf, director of the Living History Museum, introduced a recreation of President Ho Chi Minh's residence on Compoint Alley in Paris from 1921 to 1923.

"The city's government and people treasure and preserve the statue and precious images and artifacts of President Ho Chi Minh's life and activities during his years in France," Golf said.

Thang expressed his honour and sense of emotion at the Ho Chi Minh Space, and emphasised that the visit helped members of the Vietnam Finance Ministry delegation better understand the arduous but also extremely glorious years of his revolutionary activities in France, as well as his feelings for the French people and international friends.

On the same day, the MoF delegation had a working session with leaders of BRED Banque Populaire. This bank does not have a branch or representative office in Vietnam, but its parent group, BPCE Group, is present in Vietnam in various forms.

BPCE Group, the second-largest financial group in France, has been operating in Vietnam since 1989 through representative offices and branches of subsidiaries such as BPCE and Natixis in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. They provide financial services to businesses, especially in international trade finance, and support French companies operating in Vietnam.

Stève Gentili, chairman of BRED Banque Populaire and BPCE Group, outlined a strategy to merge or take over Natixis Bank, which has been present in Vietnam for over 30 years, to consolidate the French financial and banking foundation in Vietnam, opening up deeper cooperation in capital, technology, and management capacity transfer.

In addition, the group wishes to consolidate and expand its presence in the Vietnamese market, establishing strategic partnerships with major financial institutions and banks in Vietnam.

The two sides discussed enhancing bilateral exchanges in finance and banking, contributing to sustainable socioeconomic development in Vietnam.

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang received Simon Green, president of Asia-Pacific and Japan at Palo Alto Networks on May 21. The company provides products and services involving network security and information security in the United States.

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang met with Eric Lombard, Minister for the Economy, Finance, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty of the French Republic on May 26 to promote economic and financial cooperation.

As part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s official visit to Vietnam, two key financing agreements were signed between the Ministry of Finance and the French Development Agency (AFD) on May 26, reinforcing the EU's commitment to climate resilience in one of Vietnam's most drought-prone regions.

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang explored new investment partnerships with Oman during a May 29 meeting in Hanoi, aiming to entice Gulf capital through joint funds and billion-dollar projects.