Citi at the forefront of Vietnam's evolving foreign exchange landscape

Citi at the forefront of Vietnam's evolving foreign exchange landscape

Minh Ngo, Citi Vietnam’s head of markets and country treasurer, shares insights with VIR’s Huong Thuy on how Citi is supporting clients to manage foreign exchange risks.

How do you view the foreign exchange landscape?

Asian corporations are increasingly embracing digital transformation, with many leading global technological advancements. Vietnam, in particular, stands out with its youthful, tech-savvy population and its commitment to the National Digital Transformation Programme. This presents significant opportunities for further digital adoption in the country. In the corporate sector, the digitalisation and adoption of FX technology are becoming standard practice.

Treasury professionals understand the value that technology brings to treasury management. This includes automating FX trade lifecycles for enhanced speed, efficiency, and accuracy, visualising multi-entity FX exposure for better risk management, and accessing top-tier digital liquidity solutions, such as electronic pricing for FX products and algorithmic FX orders.

Minh Ngo, Citi Vietnam’s head of markets and country treasurer

What is Citi's role in this FX landscape in Vietnam?

Citi Vietnam proudly leads the evolving foreign exchange landscape by leveraging cutting-edge digital solutions and robust technology to meet our clients' needs.

Our goal is to empower businesses with seamless, secure, and efficient FX capabilities, enabling them to thrive in today's modern economy.

Clients are increasingly seeking to optimise their liquidity sourcing and demand fully integrated solutions for execution, confirmation, and workflow. Our platforms address this need by delivering Citi's best-in-class digital FX offerings.

Embedded finance is another area driving FX technology adoption beyond corporate treasuries. For instance, online sales distribution channels, such as e-commerce platforms, are increasingly implementing FX pricing solutions and multi-currency pricing to boost sales and enhance user experiences.

Citi is pleased to partner with some of the largest e-commerce companies globally, designing and deploying these solutions by leveraging our robust FX API and risk management capabilities.

How does Citi's product suite and infrastructure support clients in Vietnam?

At Citi, we are deeply committed to our FX technology capabilities and continuously invest in our technology to support our clients' digital priorities.

We offer a range of advanced digital FX platforms that provide clients with real-time access to FX markets and the ability to execute transactions seamlessly in multiple currencies.

We have consistently incorporated Vietnam-specific requirements into these platforms, enabling users to manage FX more efficiently and in compliance with local regulations.

Since 2018, Citi has implemented CitiFX Pulse, an in-house FX online platform, which has been highly appreciated by many corporate and institutional clients for its convenience, timely execution, and confirmation benefits.

Additionally, Citi has streamlined internal FX processes to achieve an automation ratio above 90 per cent and has launched online FX confirmations as the final piece of our digitalisation solution, simplifying the supporting documents, trading, and confirmation processes.

Could you share an important deal that highlights Citi's pioneering efforts in the FX landscape?

Leveraging onshore presence and global networks, we have implemented a structured financing solution involving a VND onshore loan combined with onshore FX hedging for incorporated subsidiaries together with offshore FX hedging by a Taiwanese technology client group.

This groundbreaking deal provided our client group with an effective funding solution with up to $150 million. This innovative loan structure significantly reduced the all-in financing cost for corporate entities with a USD functional currency base and is highly replicable for other customers with similar trade flows.

Through strong coordination between Citi Vietnam's local team and our regional and global experts, we delivered a solution that enables clients to effectively manage FX risks while benefiting from optimal funding costs. This comprehensive package of onshore and offshore solutions exemplifies the strength of our global network.

VIR