UOB building new Vietnam headquarters in Ho Chi Minh, will house over 1,500 staff

Singapore's United Overseas Bank (UOB) will build its new Vietnam headquarters at the International Financial Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, becoming the first foreign lender to do so.

The reveal came on Jan. 12, 2026, as Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who is also the Minister for Trade and Industry, met his counterpart, Standing Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh, who was appointed the Chairman of the Vietnam International Financial Centre.

The Vietnamese delegation was hosted in Singapore.

UOB was the first Singapore bank to establish a representative office in Vietnam in 1993, and it also opened its wholly-owned UOB Vietnam subsidiary in 2018.

UOB Vietnam's capital to increase to VND10 trillion (S$490 million)

UOB's deputy chairman and CEO, Wee Ee Cheong, also met Binh and said that UOB plans to increase its Vietnamese subsidiary's capital by 20 per cent to VND10 trillion (S$490 million), according to VnExpress.

UOB considers Vietnam a strategic market in Southeast Asia, and the additional capital will enable the bank to expand operations.

In a LinkedIn post, UOB stated that the meeting on Jan. 12 included discussions on "Vietnam's strategic vision for its upcoming International Financial Centres."

Cheong also affirmed UOB's commitment to contributing to Vietnam's next stage of growth.

“Vietnam is one of our key regional markets, and we have always believed in the country’s strong growth potential."

Vietnam's International Financial Centre will be constructed in two cities, Ho Chi Minh and Da Nang. It was approved by Vietnam's national assembly in June 2025.

"The planned UOB Headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City’s International Financial Centre (IFC) area, which will house our enterprising and growing team of more than 1,500 staff."

VnExpress previously reported that Singapore has invested more than US$90 billion (S$115 billion) in Vietnam and is its second-largest investor behind South Korea.

Top photo from Monetary Authority of Singapore/LinkedIn and UOB/LinkedIn.