Taiwan’s Cathay Financial seeks deeper role in Vietnam’s new international financial center

Vietnam officially announced the creation of the International Financial Center, or IFC, on December 21, 2025, with two locations in Ho Chi Minh City and the central city of Da Nang.

The Da Nang facility was inaugurated on January 9, 2026, while the Ho Chi Minh City center is scheduled to launch on February 9, 2026.

Ya-Jou Chang, senior vice-president of Cathay Financial Holdings, said the group supports Vietnam's IFC development strategy and hopes to participate deeply in its ecosystem.

Chang told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Friday that Cathay does not plan to contribute only capital, but also aims to help build a comprehensive financial services ecosystem, with a particular focus on startups and environmentally friendly businesses.

Cathay has operated in Ho Chi Minh City for more than 20 years.

Chang said the group's participation in the IFC would allow it to better capture investment flows, both within Vietnam and across borders between Vietnam and international markets.

That, she added, would enable Cathay to provide more comprehensive financial services to its clients.

One of Cathay's key strengths, according to the company, is its integrated financial ecosystem built on three main pillars – banking, insurance, and asset management.

When working with small- and medium-sized enterprises and startups, Cathay prioritizes understanding their real operational needs and designs financial solutions tailored to each stage of growth.

Chang said Cathay hopes to become an active and responsible member of Vietnam's financial ecosystem through the IFC.

The group plans to take on multiple roles, not only as a capital provider, but also as a service provider, client, and long-term partner.

"We are ready to bring Cathay's integrated financial solutions to a wide range of stakeholders, contributing in a practical way to the development of Vietnam's International Financial Center," she said.

Cathay Financial Holdings is one of Taiwan's largest financial groups, with total assets of about US$468 billion.

It serves more than 15 million customers, roughly 66 percent of Taiwan's population.

In Vietnam, Cathay has invested for over two decades in banking and insurance, with banking as its core focus.

Over the past three years, Cathay United Bank in Vietnam has recorded double-digit growth in both revenue and profit.

The bank has built partnerships with more than 300 Vietnamese and Taiwanese companies, participated in over 100 syndicated loan deals, and acted as lead bank in nearly 20 transactions, placing it among the most active foreign banks in the Southeast Asian country.

Expanding green finance in Vietnam

Cathay said its portfolio of environmental, social and governance, or ESG, and green finance loans in Vietnam has grown significantly over the past two to three years, reaching about $100 million.

The group expects this figure to rise further in 2026 as demand increases for financial solutions linked to green transition and sustainable development.

Currently, Cathay's green financing in Vietnam is concentrated in several key sectors.

These include banking and finance, where ESG standards are increasingly integrated into governance and capital allocation; water supply and wastewater treatment, which are critical to environmental infrastructure and sustainable urban development; and manufacturing, particularly factories operated by Taiwanese, Japanese, and Vietnamese companies.

Cathay sees substantial growth potential for green finance in Vietnam, especially as foreign trade continues to expand and sustainability requirements become an increasingly important condition in international partnerships.