Russia's central bank said on Thursday it had accredited Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), the first bank from the Asian country to be represented on the Russian market.

BIDV is taking part with Russia's VTB Bank in a pilot project aimed at arranging payments between Russia and Vietnam in the their national currencies.

BIDV is also a co-founder of Vietnam-Russia Joint Venture Bank, the only bank with Russian capital working on Vietnam's market.