Standard Chartered has co-led a group of banks in the execution of a US$175 million syndicated loan for Vietnamese broker Techcom Securities.

The lender, along with CTBC Bank, Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank, Taishin International Bank and KGI Bank, acted as the mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners for the unprecedented unsecured syndicated loan for a Vietnamese securities firm.

CTBC Bank, Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank, Taishin International Bank and KGI Bank are all from Taiwan.

The financing enables the broker, part of Vietnamese private lender Techcombank, to invest in infrastructure and cutting-edge technologies such as machine learning and generative artificial intelligence, with the aim of better understanding the market and customer needs to flexibly manage wealth and save clients’ time, develop capabilities that will differentiate it from competitors, and make timely business decisions. 

The firm has become the first Vietnamese securities company to have Standard Chartered Bank arrange and finance a US dollar syndicated loan, also becoming the first broker to close the largest unsecured syndicated loan in Vietnam’s securities industry.

Techcom Securities will continue to leverage its financial position to support customers with policies such as zero fee trading and margin loan packages.

Setting the benchmark

The latest deal brings the cumulative value of unsecured international syndicated loans obtained by Techcom Securities since 2020 to over US$761 million.

"This transaction has set the benchmark as the largest syndicated loan in the Vietnamese securities space and Standard Chartered is honoured to have contributed to this successful outcome for Techcom Securities through our strong markets knowledge combined with origination and structuring capabilities and a global distribution network,” says Swati Roy, regional head of financing solutions, Asean and Australia, at Standard Chartered Bank.

Techcom Securities chief executive officer Nguyen Thi Thu Hien says her company's reputation and credit rating are crucial for international financial institutions when considering granting a loan.

International banks seek to partner with industry leaders that exhibit stability and growth potential, she adds.

Also, Hanoi-based Techcombank is a leading commercial bank in Vietnam. Warburg Pincus announced in March 2018 that it was investing more than US$370 million in the private lender to make the largest-ever private equity investment in the Southeast Asian country at the time.

The investment came from two of the private equity firm’s global funds – the Warburg Pincus Private Equity XII and the Financial Sector Fund.