Credit Bureau Asia to enter Vietnam with financial data provider FiinGroup

Sharanya Pillai

Published Mon, Aug 2, 2021 · 06:43 PM

MAINBOARD-LISTED Credit Bureau Asia TCU : TCU 0% (CBA) has signed a memorandum of understanding to enter Vietnam in partnership with Hanoi-headquartered financial data provider FiinGroup, the company announced in a Monday bourse filing.

Under the agreement, both companies will form a joint venture in Vietnam to provide analytics and data solutions to financial institutions, credit granting agencies, payment services agencies and other data companies. The partnership will also support the data analytics capabilities Buy Now, Pay Later players and mass market services such as telcos.

Both companies will further explore establishing a private credit bureau, with traditional and alternative data points, to support credit-granting institutions by end-2021.

"We have been monitoring the growing Vietnam economy for a while and find that now is an opportune time to enter this exciting market with our strong local partner FiinGroup," said Kevin Koo, founder and executive chairman of CBA, which provides credit and risk information solutions.

Founded in 2008, FiinGroup has been licensed by the Vietnam Ministry of Finance to operate as a credit rating agency from March 2020. Japan's Nikkei Inc and Quick Corp together own 35.1 per cent of the group's equity. It has over 100 staff, including data, business and risk analysts, and IT engineers. It also has a branch in Ho Chi Minh City.

"We see potential opportunities for growth in the analytics and data solutions space and a partnership approach with an experienced industry player with track record and know-how is a good way forward to capture significant market share quickly," said FiinGroup chairman and CEO Nguyen Quang Thuan.