A signing ceremony marking a cooperation deal between Spanish football giants FC Barcelona and Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) was held in Hanoi on Tuesday.

The Spanish club announced that SHB, one of the top five private commercial banks in Vietnam, will become their exclusive partner in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

This is also the first time Barcelona have established partnership with a lender.

The event was attended by Barcelona’s Asia-Pacific managing director Xavier Asensi, SHB Chairman Do Quang Hien and CEO Nguyen Van Le.

With this sponsorship agreement, SHB and the club will cooperate to expand the Barcelona fan base in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia as well as opening up opportunities in the retail sector through the development of co-branded cards in the three countries, the reigning La Liga champions said in a press release on Tuesday.

The Vietnamese lender is expected to organize exchange and fan activities in the three territories, contributing to the Barcelona culture, tradition and spirit found in millions of the club’s supporters.

“The signing of this regional sponsorship deal reaffirms our interest in increasing our presence in this continent and also reflects that our club is gaining notable levels of popularity in this strategic zone, which encourages us to continue focusing on our presence in Southeast Asia,” Manel Arroyo, Barcelona vice president, marketing and communication department, was quoted as saying in the press release.

“We are so happy to have SHB as our first ever bank partner in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Through partnering with SHB, we will be closer to 90 million Vietnamese, [including] a growing fan community,” Asensi was cited as saying.

He believed that the collaboration would create a huge buzz and represented a strong synergy.

Chairman Hien considered the partnership perfect cooperation as the two parties share common goals in brand development, an objective of sustainable development and a desire to grow their devoted fan and customer base, according to the press release.

Customers are able to see and feel their idols when using the Barcelona – SHB co-branded card and banking products, the chairman said, adding that the agreement would provide SHB with the opportunity to promote Vietnamese culture to the world.

Barcelona are also expected to make an appearance on a Vietnamese football field in 2017 following an invitation from SHB, according to Chairman Hien.

In order for Barcelona to play in a certain country, they have to have a partner in that nation, Asensi told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday, adding that they would consider bringing the team to Vietnam after forming the partnership with SHB.

As the cooperation is aimed at bringing their fans in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia closer to the players, the representative hoped that Vietnamese supporters would also benefit from the handshake.

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