(ĐTCK) - Faced with the noise and somewhat chaotic situation at the 2nd annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) of Vietnam Export-Import Bank (Eximbank) that took place recently, Securities Investment Newspaper has had a frank discussion with Mr. Ngo Thanh Tung, Member of the Board of Directors of Eximbank and also a member of the Chairman of the Congress delegation, to help investors and shareholders have a clearer view of the current picture at Eximbank.

Mr. Ngo Thanh Tung

Eximbank's 2nd annual shareholder meeting had unexpected results when it had to be canceled at the last minute. According to you, what is the cause?
As you can see, the objective reason is to return the hotel hall to welcome US President Barack Obama at the request of security. But the main reason is because a group of aggressive shareholders deliberately caused trouble so that the Congress could not succeed. The congress was continuously interrupted by these disruptive acts.

The group proposed to put its members on the vote counting committee and the Chairman also accepted, ensuring democracy and transparency. However, members of the vote counting committee of this group of people deliberately did not cooperate with other members in counting votes, intentionally sabotaging the success of the Congress.
In any situation, as you can see, we have shown moderation and professionalism, to protect Eximbank's image. However, you can understand that, if one side wants to cause trouble and finds every way to disrupt it, even if it makes efforts, it will be difficult to make the Congress a success.

In addition to objective factors, many opinions say that it is the Bank's major shareholder groups that find it difficult to find a common voice, leading to the above situation, sir?
Shareholders may not fully agree on the goals, methods and vision for bank management. However, regardless of any differences, aggressive shareholder groups should understand that the biggest goal must be for the benefit of Eximbank. Therefore, you should not take actions that damage your own assets, as well as the assets of other shareholders.

In corporate culture, differing views should be expressed peacefully and civilly, especially without attacking others in a dishonest or malicious manner. If this continues, Eximbank will lose the trust of the public, investors and shareholders..., especially foreign investors, how they will think about Vietnamese businessmen and Vietnamese culture.
Eximbank's history has never witnessed an annual shareholder meeting like the recent second annual shareholder meeting. The frustration and chaos of a group of shareholders made many people think that a power struggle was openly taking place at Eximbank. What do you think about this and as a current member of the Board of Directors, what message do you have to reassure shareholders?
In my opinion, to say that some Eximbank shareholders are fighting for power is unfair to all other shareholders. Because the majority of shareholders are peaceful and want Eximbank to stabilize, to build the Bank in the most professional way.
As for commenting on the current Board of Directors of Eximbank, with the current 9 members, we have only worked together for 5 months, and do not have enough experience to judge. However, I can confirm that the current Board of Directors is committed to reform and transparency in Eximbank's operations. During the working process, the members of the Board of Directors all made great efforts, in the context that the Bank was still cluttered with backlogs, as well as unconstructive opinions from shareholder groups. Taking responsibility for bank management at this time is a big challenge, so the Board of Directors needs to be encouraged and created with the best conditions to complete the task well.
Regarding the message to shareholders, in my opinion (I do not dare to give advice to investors), Eximbank is a long-standing bank in Vietnam, with a good foundation and many experienced and future personnel. of the Bank will certainly be good, in the long term, if thinking and management methods are improved.
Có thông tin rằng, sở dĩ 2 nhóm cổ đông nắm giữ 20% vốn của Eximbank chưa tham gia được vào HĐQT Eximbank's new term, like the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders issued at the end of 2015, is because the current Board of Directors does not want their presence. How do you explain this?
The Board of Directors is essentially an employee of the shareholders to protect the Bank's ultimate interests. The current Board of Directors is clearly aware of this, so all decisions must be made according to this principle of benefit.
Therefore, there is no question that the current Board of Directors wants or does not want the participation of any group of shareholders. All decisions of the Board of Directors must be in accordance with the provisions of law and the Bank's charter. All activities of the Board of Directors are under the supervision of the State Bank, to contribute to ensuring the health of the Vietnamese banking system.
In addition, there is information on the market that a group of shareholders is "buying votes" in many different ways before the Congress takes place. What is the truth about this and what action has the Bank's Board of Directors taken?
We believe that this is the job of the authorities, not the current Board of Directors or Executive Board of the Bank. The current priority task is to stabilize and resolve outstanding problems and restructure the Bank to bring Eximbank back to a sustainable development trajectory.
Shareholders also shared concerns that Nam A Bank would acquire Eximbank as information appeared on the market recently. This concern is based on the basis of Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan Loan (representing the group of shareholders with over 10% of Eximbank's share capital), former Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Nam A Bank, sister of Mr. Nguyen Quoc Toan, who has just returned to take over. Holding the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nam A Bank, do you have any comments on this?
We have heard about those concerns as well. However, right-wrong or acquisition (if any), will be monitored by the authorities. I believe the authorities have sufficient information and experience to solve similar problems.
It is known that Eximbank plans to hold an extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders on August 2, 2016, but the market believes that if Eximbank has not resolved the senior personnel situation satisfactorily, it is likely that the upcoming extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders will It is difficult to eliminate chaos like the last congress. What does Eximbank's Board of Directors do to cope if the above situation occurs, sir?
Organizing a shareholder meeting is really expensive and takes a lot of effort, many businesses are affected, so no one wants to organize it again and again.
We hope that everyone, for the common good, will behave properly and civilly, dialogue to find appropriate solutions, and consider public opinion information selectively and objectively to represent the public. The conference was a great success, meeting the expectations of the majority of shareholders.
Eximbank is a reputable bank and brand in the financial market, but in recent years it has shown signs of decline as bad debt increased and senior personnel fluctuated. Can the new Eximbank Board of Directors revive the Bank and bring Eximbank back to a leading trajectory?
Đây là ưu tiên hàng đầu của HĐQT và Ban điều hành cùng toàn thể người lao động tại Eximbank. Chúng tôi sẽ nỗ lực hết sức mình giải quyết các vấn đề tồn đọng như nợ xấu…, làm việc với cổ đông chiến lược SMBC Nhật Bản trong việc tái cấu trúc Ngân hàng với những giải pháp phù hợp. Đồng thời, chúng tôi cũng quyết tâm xây dựng văn hoá minh bạch, thẳng thắn…, và hy vọng sẽ đưa Eximbank quay về quỹ đạo là một trong những ngân hàng hàng đầu tại Việt Nam và phát triển bền vững. Chúng tôi cũng ý thức được rằng, đây là một công cuộc vô vàn khó khăn trong thời điểm hiện nay.
Câu hỏi cuối và cho phép tôi thẳng thắn nhé… nghe "tin đồn" là ông vào HĐQT nhằm phục vụ "sân sau"?
Xin cám ơn về câu hỏi thẳng thắn này. Trong trường hợp của tôi, không có bất kỳ một sân sau nào và không có bất kỳ một lợi ích nào tại Eximbank. Điều tôi mong muốn là cùng với anh chị em cán bộ, nhân viên Eximbank hợp lực cải cách Ngân hàng, hướng đến hoạt động lành mạnh, góp một phần nhỏ cho sự tốt đẹp của đời sống người lao động tại Ngân hàng.
Tôi mong Ban Kiểm soát, các cán bộ Ngân hàng giám sát chặt chẽ và nêu cụ thể nếu phát hiện được bất kỳ "sân sau" nào của tôi, để tránh những đồn thổi một cách ác ý, cản trở quá trình cải cách mà các thành viên HĐQT khác đang nỗ lực tiến hành.This is the top priority of the Board of Directors and Executive Board and all employees at Eximbank. We will do our best to resolve outstanding issues such as bad debt..., working with strategic shareholder SMBC Japan in restructuring the Bank with appropriate solutions. At the same time, we are also determined to build a transparent, straightforward culture..., and hope to bring Eximbank back to the trajectory of being one of the leading banks in Vietnam and developing sustainably. We are also aware that this is an extremely difficult task at the present time.
Last question and let me be frank... I heard a "rumor" that you joined the Board of Directors to serve the "backyard"?
Thank you for this straightforward question. In my case, there is no backyard and no interest at Eximbank. What I want is to join forces with Eximbank officials and employees to reform the Bank, towards healthy operations, and contribute a small part to the betterment of the lives of workers at the Bank.
I hope the Supervisory Board and Bank officials will closely monitor and specifically state if any of my "backyards" are discovered, to avoid malicious rumors and hinder the reform process. Other Board members are making efforts to proceed.