General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam held meetings with senior executives from JPMorgan Chase and Visa in New York on Wednesday to discuss strengthening Vietnam’s financial and digital economies.
In talks with Troy Rohrbaugh, co-president of JPMorgan Chase, one of the world’s largest financial institutions, To Lam acknowledged the bank’s longstanding role in advising the Vietnamese government and enterprises on capital raising in international markets. Rohrbaugh expressed admiration for Vietnam’s recent socio-economic progress and affirmed JPMorgan Chase’s commitment to supporting the country’s development by facilitating information exchange and sharing global expertise. He emphasized Vietnam’s macroeconomic stability and growth potential as key factors valued by international investors.
To Lam highlighted Vietnam’s ambitious growth agenda, which includes key infrastructure, energy, and digital transformation projects. He called on JPMorgan Chase to assist the government, commercial banks, and businesses in accessing international capital through channels such as bond issuance and export credit, aiming to attract high-quality investments aligned with Vietnam’s development objectives. Additionally, To urged the bank to provide guidance on debt and foreign exchange reserve management to support Vietnam’s pursuit of investment-grade credit ratings.
Later, To Lam met with Robert Thomson, senior vice-president and global head of government affairs at Visa Inc., one of the leading companies in payment technology. The president acknowledged Visa’s over 30 years of engagement with Vietnam, starting from initial card transactions to recent initiatives in digital payments, public transportation, public services, digital tourism, and business support. Both sides noted the strength of their existing partnership and the potential to scale up digital payment ecosystems to generate significant economic benefits.
Thomson expressed a desire to deepen cooperation in support of Vietnam’s digital transformation priorities, particularly in electronic payments, which align with Visa’s global investment strategies. He recognized Vietnam’s dynamic growth in science, technology, and innovation as an enabling environment for expanded digital payment solutions.
To Lam emphasized that digital payments form a crucial part of the national digital economy infrastructure, impacting sectors such as productivity, transparency, transaction costs, e-commerce, tourism, and public services. He encouraged Visa to assist in expanding digital payments in the public sector, developing integrated digital public transport systems, creating a digital tourism ecosystem, and facilitating small and medium-sized enterprises’ integration into the digital economy. Additionally, To called for support in sharing expertise on fraud prevention, workforce training, and capacity building among banks, payment intermediaries, businesses, and regulators.
These engagements underscore Vietnam’s efforts to deepen integration with global financial markets and accelerate its national digital transformation initiatives.