Pandemic pauses financial services jobs boom in Vietnam
Riding on wings of strong economic growth, 6750 financial services and fintech jobs were created in Vietnam in 2018. However, momentum slowed in the past two years and has not yet recovered.
More financial services jobs were created in Vietnam that anywhere else in south-east Asia over the past decade, with spikes in job creation in 2015 and 2018, as firms from South Korea, Japan and Europe invested in the county to tap its fast-growing middle class and growing economy. The country’s gross domestic product expanded by around 7% in 2018 and in 2019, according to World Bank data.
In 2018, 6750 financial services and fintech jobs were created from 45 projects with a total capital expenditure of $1.6bn, according to FT-owned greenfield data monitor fDi Markets.
Investment in the sector, however, fell in 2019 and continued to drop in 2020 with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, only 11 financial services and fintech projects happened last year, creating just 1450 jobs with a total capital expenditure of $372.5m. Notable investments in the sector in 2020 included Saudi Arabian buy now, pay later platform Tamara opening a Vietnamese office; Generali Vietnam Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Italy’s Generali, expanding its presence in Da Nang; and Shinhan Vietnam Bank, part of South Korea’s Shinhan Financial, opening new branches in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
A spike in Covid-19 infections in Vietnam this year led to the reintroduction of lockdown measures in parts of the country, which has curbed business activity. As of the end of August 2021, Vietnam had attracted three financial services and fintech projects, with a total capital expenditure of $70.7m, creating 225 jobs.
Investments this year include Japan’s Hokkoku Bank establishing a new office in Ho Chi Minh City; also in the city, German tech group GFT has opened a delivery centre focused on cloud technologies and next-generation core banking systems. In addition, Bank of China opened a representative office in Hanoi.
Trends identified using fDi Markets, a comprehensive online database of cross-border greenfield investments, covering all countries and sectors worldwide. Contact us.
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