The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) iswilling to create a more transparent and attractive business environmentin order to persuade US enterprises to operate in Vietnam, SBV ViceGovernor Nguyen Thi Hong has said.

During her recent workingsession with Alexander C. Feldman, President of the US-ASEAN BusinessCouncil, Hong said SBV encourages voluntary mergers, consolidations andacquisitions of credit institutions, ensuring the interests ofdepositors and the rights and obligations of economic stakeholders inline with legal regulations.

The bank also fosters the restructuring of credit institutions to improve their efficiency, she said.

Forhis part, Feldman affirmed that US firms consider Vietnam as apromising market, saying that they want to expand their investment inVietnam’s strongest sectors.

He noted that US enterprises care about Vietnam’s attempts to make the banking system healthier.

Representativesfrom the two sides discussed the development of the capital market inVietnam and solutions to help small- and medium-sized enterprises gainaccess to capital. They also considered the best ways in which topromote the application of modern technologies in the internationalpayment process.

A Washington DC-based non-profit organisation,the US-ASEAN Business Council includes nearly 120 member groupsoperating in many sectors in the US. The body serves as a bridge linkingUS investors and the Vietnamese Government.

It has supportedVietnam in the past, campaigning for the approval of a Bilateral TradeAgreement (BTA) in 2001 and supporting Vietnam’s bid to join the WorldTrade Organisation in 2007. At present, there are an increasing numberof US groups with an interest in the Vietnamese market, leading totightening business links.-VNA