The partnership will give EFG Hermes’ clients access to best-in-class execution in live market hours, deep local market knowledge through award-winning research and enhanced corporate access to the Vietnamese market​.

EFG Hermes, a leading financial services corporation in Frontier Emerging Markets, announced today the signing a partnership agreement with Asia Commercial Bank Securities (ACBS) of Vietnam, the securities trading arm of Asia Commercial Bank (ACB on the Hanoi Stock Exchange), one of the leading commercial banks in Vietnam. Under the agreement, EFG Hermes’ clients will receive on-ground access and intelligence to trade the Hanoi stock exchange, Ho Chi Minh City Exchange and UPCOM, some of Asia’s most compelling capital markets.

“The new partnership is yet another manifestation of our strategy to widen our geographic footprint and identify new opportunities. While the past two years witnessed rapid expansion in African and Asian frontier markets with offices launched in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Kenya, we are now entering Southeast Asia to complete our FEM setup. Through our partnership with ACBS, one of the country’s leading brokerage providers, EFG Hermes is now the first Frontier Emerging Markets (FEM) investment bank to establish an on-the-ground presence in Vietnam, an increasingly important destination for global investors given the size of the market and its liquidity,” said Ali Khalpey, Chief Executive Officer of EFG Hermes Frontier.

This collaboration with ACBS - one of Vietnam’s premier brokerages founded in 2000 concurrently with the launch of the listed capital markets - with its market leading infrastructure, solid financial position and a developed national network, will enable EFG Hermes to explore associated benefits in liquidity, deal flow and execution in one of the world’s best performing markets.

“The partnership will see the assembly of a Vietnam-based team over the coming twelve to eighteen months to complement our award-winning roster of research and trading professionals,” noted Khalpey. “This partnership will provide our clients access to the Hanoi Stock Exchange, Ho Chi Minh City Exchange and UPCOM using ACBS’ platform, while expanding our Vietnamese research offering, under our own brand name.”

“We are intensifying our involvement in Vietnam at a highly opportune moment,” said Kato Mukuru, Head of Frontier Markets Research at EFG Hermes. “The country’s dynamic export-oriented manufacturing sector is seeing considerable gains as more multinationals seek to relocate production away from China and to Vietnam. This continuing shift comes against a backdrop of exchange rate stability and consistently rapid economic growth, which registered 6.79% in the first quarter of 2019, Vietnam’s second-strongest first quarter growth rate since 2009. Vietnam is seeing remarkable growth in exports, manufacturing and foreign investment, while domestic demand remains robust as the middle class forms an ever-larger share of its 95 million-strong population.”

Commenting on the new partnership, Trinh Thanh Can, Chief Executive Officer of ACBS said, “We are looking forward to a highly productive relationship with one of the leading financial services corporations in FEM. ACBS will work to ensure that this mutually beneficial partnership allows us to leverage EFG Hermes’ institutional heft, global network of clients and capability to create lasting value, while furthering the institutionalization of Vietnam’s capital markets.”

ACBS provides a wide range of financial services including securities brokerage, investment banking, and asset management. Since 2017 the firm has prioritized the development of securities brokerage activities and expanded its branch network to 132 brokers located across 8 of Vietnam’s largest provinces.​