Chinese bank, textile firm in Vietnam contribute to China-Vietnam economic ties

HO CHI MINH CITY - Bank of China's Ho Chi Minh City Branch signed here Wednesday a $103 million syndicated loan for a Vietnam-based subsidiary of leading Chinese yarn manufacturer Texhong Textile Group, partly helping foster the good investment and trade relations between the two countries.

The loan, provided by eight foreign and Vietnamese banks, including Bank of China's Ho Chi Minh City Branch, will be used to broaden and deepen production of Texhong Galaxy Technology Company which was established in the northern province of Quang Ninh with investment capital of $300 million. Now, Texhong Textile Group, a leading cotton textile manufacturer in the world, has four production bases in Vietnam.

At the syndicated term loan signing ceremony on Wednesday evening, Director of Bank of China's Ho Chi Minh City Branch Wang Hao said that thanks to Chinese firms' expanded investment in Vietnam and relevant stakeholders' involvement, the bank has had opportunities to enhance its financial services' performance in the country, contributing to the fine economic ties between China and Vietnam.

According to the Director of Bank of China's Ho Chi Minh City Branch, the two-way trade between China and Vietnam will surpass $100 billion this year, and Vietnam will overtake Malaysia to become China's biggest trading partner in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam and China are speeding up construction of "One Belt, One Road" and "two belts and one economic corridor," Wang said, adding that Vietnam is also implementing or going to implement many regional and bilateral free trade agreements.

"I always has a dream of arranging syndicated loans in renminbi (Chinese currency) in the Vietnamese market," he said, adding his bank can grant a credit of up to $15 million to a single client.

"Now, Bank of China is implementing over 300 key projects in more than 16 nations which participate in the Chinese initiative of "One Belt, One Road. The bank is striving to cater for 34 countries in the next three to five years, with the total funds of some $100 billion," Wang said.

Also at the signing ceremony, General Director of Texhong Galaxy Technology Company Huang Yiyong said that Texhong will create more jobs for Vietnamese people, contribute more to the Vietnamese state budget and facilitate technology transfer.

Texhong production bases in Vietnam currently have some 1.25 million spindles in the country, or some 15 percent of Vietnam's total, Huang said, noting that they produce about 300,000 tons of textile each year, or 43 percent of Vietnam's total.