Pham Hong Hai, upon receiving necessary approval from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and the HSBC Group, on Monday was officially unveiled as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HSBC Bank Vietnam Ltd, becoming the first Vietnamese person to head operations at the Vietnam’s foreign-owned bank.

Hai, 40, succeeds Sumit Dutta, who served as the CEO from May 2011 through July 2014 before moving to HSBC Indonesia.

“It is a great honor to become the first Vietnamese CEO in the HSBC group. This is a proud moment, not only for me, but also for all of the staff at HSBC Vietnam. I’m immensely grateful for the trust that our clients, my colleagues and the HSBC Group has placed in me,” said Hai.

Hai  first joined HSBC in 1995 and then became the first ever Vietnamese national to be appointed head of Global Markets at HSBC Vietnam in 2004 and head of Global Banking and Market (GB&M) in 2012.

Under his leadership, GB&M developed into one of the largest and most highly-regarded franchises among foreign banks in Vietnam.

GB&M has assisted to facilitate numerous major deals for many years, such as closing the first local currency cross currency swap in Vietnam in 2004, advising a top tier State-owned bank for the country’s first Tier 2 bond issuance in 2006, and advising another top State-owned bank to execute its first international bond issuance in 2012, and most recently, acting as the Joint Lead Manager and Joint Book Runner to issue $1 billion Vietnam sovereign bonds in 2014.

Hai personally received a Certificate of Merit for excellence from Trade Union of the State Bank of Vietnam for his contribution to the Banking industry of Vietnam between 2011 and 2013.  

 “Operating 6,200 offices across a global network of 74 countries and territories, HSBC offers expertise in both emerging markets and developed markets,” said Hai.

“Vietnam is a country with great potential and innumerable opportunities and many Vietnamese companies are trying to forge international links. With our international connectivity, HSBC is ideally positioned to play a key role in the development of the Vietnam’s banking industry and economy,” he added.

Hai holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City and a Professional Diploma in Financial Services from the Institute of Financial Services in the UK.