14/08/2026

BIZ & FINANCE

BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | AUG 14, 2026

17

Foreign banks eye bigger role in Vietnam

WeRide views Australia, Southeast Asia as potential new markets BEIJING: Chinese autonomous driving firm WeRide is considering Australia, South Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia as potential new markets for expansion, its chief executive said yesterday. The expansion push comes as leading Chinese robotaxi firms race to establish overseas footholds, seeking new growth markets and diversified revenue streams as autonomous driving technology moves closer to commercial deployment globally. “In Australia, we are talking with the regulatory authorities about the possibility,“ WeRide CEO Tony Han told Reuters. Other potential markets include Southeast Asia, South Korea and Japan, he said, adding that the company was also in talks with European countries. The Guangzhou-based firm entered Denmark earlier in August, extending its European footprint to a sixth country. WeRide’s autonomous vehicles now span more than 60 cities across 13 countries. Commercial deployments of its right-hand-drive robotaxi service are also set to begin in Singapore and Hong Kong. “We want to hire locally and we want to work closely with the local government officials and the authorities and try to use as many local collaborators as possible,“ Han said. Overseas expansion has become an increasingly important growth driver for WeRide. The company’s second-quarter overseas revenue grew 164% from a year earlier, outpacing an 82% increase in total quarterly revenue, according to its disclosure on Wednesday. The company’s EBITDA loss narrowed 8.1% year-on-year in the second quarter. It targets achieving positive cash flow in a single quarter by 2028, with a full-year break-even anticipated in 2029. “Currently we don’t have a very immediate need for capital raising,“ Han said, adding that the company would keep the possibility open if terms were “good”. WeRide’s global robotaxi fleet exceeded 1,800 vehicles as of the end of July, part of a level 4 autonomous fleet of about 3,400 vehicles that also includes robobuses and robosweepers. Han said the firm was confident of reaching its target of deploying 5,000 vehicles of high automation level 4 by the end of this year, including 2,600 robotaxis. Beyond its jointly developed purpose-built robotaxi with Geely Farizon, WeRide is also co-developing another robotaxi model with GAC that is expected to deliver further hardware cost reductions, he said. The company’s longer-term goal is to deploy robotaxis in the tens of thousands by 2030 before expanding to one million vehicles by 2035. – Reuters

o Lending jumps as country seeks 10% growth, embarks on major infrastructure drive HANOI: Foreign banks are seeking a bigger foothold in Vietnam by extending hard-currency loans to local lenders squeezed between rising domestic funding costs and government pressure to expand credit to meet ambitious economic growth targets, bankers and analysts said. The growing reliance on offshore funding highlights a central challenge for Communist Party chief To Lam’s economic agenda, with banks expected to bankroll most of the planned infrastructure projects worth about US$200 billion and support annual growth of at least 10% through 2030 despite mounting funding strains. Chinese, Taiwanese and Middle Eastern banks are among those said to have shown interest as Vietnamese lenders seek offshore funding, said Willie Tanoto of Fitch Ratings, noting the size of discussed syndicated deals has reportedly been around several hundred million dollars. Several foreign banks operate in Vietnam through branches, and more could enter under the government’s plan to establish international financial centres, analysts said, though key details remain unclear. Japanese and South Korean banks are already strategic investors in some of the country’s largest lenders. Last month, HDBank, a mid-sized private bank linked to budget carrier VietJet, said it had secured an international syndicated loan agreement worth US$721 million, exceeding the initial fundraising target by approximately 60%. Lenders included Standard Chartered, Germany’s Commerzbank and Japan’s MUFG Bank. That followed a US$1.44 billion offshore loan signed in June by VPBank, one of Vietnam’s largest private banks, with Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui playing a key role in the deal. Techcombank, another top private bank, is also seeking a foreign loan of US$1 billion pending regulatory approval, its CEO Jens Lottner told Reuters, confirming an earlier Bloomberg report. “As domestic interest rates are rising, this becomes economically sensible again for

People ride motorcycles in front of the headquarter of the State Bank of Vietnam in Hanoi. – REUTERSPIC

bank – the State Bank of Vietnam – assigns annual credit-growth quotas to individual lenders. Yet by the end of June, credit growth had exceeded 18% year-on-year. Large infrastructure projects, including a railway being developed by Vingroup, are exempt from those limits. As banks struggle to bridge the gap between short-term funding and the long-dated financing needs of infrastructure projects, the central bank in July relaxed prudential rules. Yet, deposits remain increasingly difficult to attract, pushing funding costs higher. Loans have consistently exceeded deposits in the period from 2021 to 2025, resulting in a gap of nearly US$77 billion now, the central bank said in an Aug 12 report, warning of risks to financial stability. Previously the bank, under pressure to boost economic growth, revised the way it calculates the loan-to deposit ratio, effectively giving banks greater room to extend credit. “While banks diversifying their funding sources is not a bad thing, especially if they are disciplined enough to stagger maturities and hedge their FX exposures, it does not resolve the deposit shortage in the domestic system,” Tanoto of Fitch said. – Reuters

medium to long term funding,” he said, noting the bank raised a similar amount overseas in 2022 and routinely taps international markets when conditions are favourable, including currently, with dollar funding relatively cheap. “I think there is appetite for Vietnam.” Interest rates on long-term deposits in Vietnam rose in June to a range of 5.9%-7.8% from 4.8%-7.1% a year earlier, according to the central bank, amid high inflation. Offshore loans to Vietnamese banks often carry interest below those paid on domestic deposits, one consultant at a Vietnam-based securities firm said, declining to be named because the information was not public. Offshore borrowing appears to be increasing, but many of the transactions are bilateral, making it difficult to estimate the total amount raised, Tanoto said. The drive to tap offshore funding is being fuelled by Vietnam’s ambitious growth agenda, analysts and bankers said. At the start of the year, the central bank lowered the banking system’s credit-growth target to 15% from 20% in 2025, after a lending boom stoked concerns over asset bubbles. In Communist-ruled Vietnam, the central

South Korea unveils package to boost housing supply SEOUL: South Korea said yesterday it would raise financial support for construction projects and ease regulations for young homebuyers as part of efforts to stabilise a red-hot housing market. and capabilities on solving the real estate problem – a ticking time bomb that threatens people’s lives and the country’s future.” people and newlyweds who buy a house to live in, while maintaining or tightening restrictions on speculative demand.

South Korea, one of the world’s most indebted countries, has complex borrowing rules in place in a bid to curb household debt. The FSC said it would manage debt growth at around 3% this year, up from the previous target of 1.5%. President Lee’s approval ratings hit a one-month low of 51% in a survey by Gallup Korea on July 24, with housing market policy being cited as one of the main factors, after house prices rose in June by the most since November 2021. – Reuters

Yesterday’s measures are aimed at “stabilising the property market by stimulating housing supply and through a comprehensive financial package for young people and those with actual demand”, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement. The FSC said it would raise policy support for financing construction projects to 47.8 trillion won (RM137.8 billion) or more, from a planned 26.3 trillion won, to boost housing supply. The FSC also announced financial support measures, such as new policy loans, for young

Earlier this month, the government of President Lee Jae Myung proposed higher taxes on wealthy homeowners. Lee’s approval ratings have been falling on rising house prices and stock market volatility. “The real estate bubble has reached a level that can no longer be left unchecked,“ Lee said during a meeting with his top aides yesterday. “If this situation continues, we could face what happened in a certain country – the so-called ‘lost decades’.” “We must concentrate all available means

Thai consumer confidence rises in July, survey shows BANGKOK: The consumer confidence index of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce rose for the second straight month in July to 51.8 from 50.7 the previous month, a survey showed yesterday. oil prices, the university said. In June, the government rolled out a 176 billion baht (RM21.7 billion) consumer subsidy scheme to ease the cost of living, under a wider 400 billion baht borrowing plan to address the impact of higher oil prices. Stronger agriculture goods prices also Consumer confidence was bolstered by government stimulus measures and easing

Last month, the Finance Ministry raised its 2026 growth forecast to 2.5% from 1.6%, helped by higher exports and domestic demand. Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy expanded 2.4% last year, lagging regional peers. – Reuters

supported confidence, Thanavath Phonvichai, the university’s president, told a briefing. Concerns over geopolitical tensions in the Middle East also eased, the university said. Consumers, however, are still worried about Thailand’s slow economic recovery, high living costs and jobs, Thanavath added.