The target was approved the bank's shareholders at its annual general meeting held in HCM City on April 18.
The shareholders also approved many other important growth targets inthis year's business plan, including an 11 percent increase inoutstanding loans, pre-tax profits of 830 billion VND (36.52 millionUSD), increasing capital mobilisation by 11.5 percent to 76.950 trillionVND (3.57 billion USD); keeping bad debt under 3 percent; keeping thebank's Return on Assets (ROA) ratio at around 0.6 percent and its Returnon Equity (R0E) ratio at 8 percent.
Chairwoman Le Thi Bang Tamsaid that to realise these targets, the bank would closely follow theState Bank of Vietnam's guidelines and restructure itself by reviewingand consolidating its operations in all aspects. It would also closelycooperate with partners to create dramatic improvements in theadministrative work and business activities, she said.
"The bankwill focus efforts on developing new products and services, studyingcustomer demands in greater depth to do so. We will continue to pushsettlement of bad debts, using provisions to handle risks in line withcurrent regulations, and closely controlling newly arisen debts."
Otherimportant tasks that HDB plans to do this year is to integrate furtherinto international financial market, strengthen co-operation withforeign partners including Credit Saison and Hyakyo Bank, and seekpotential strategic partners, the chairwoman said.
Making thenecessary preparations for listing its shares on the domestic exchangeis also part of the bank's action plan, she said.
Shareholders appreciated the bank's business results for 2014.
Thebank and its subsidiary companies recorded a combined pre-tax profit of700 billion VND (32.48 million USD); a year-on year increase of 15.4percent in terms of total asset value to 99.525 trillion VND (4.62billion USD) ; and a 16 percent growth in capital mobilisation. Itsoutstanding credit balance was 54 trillion VND (2.51 billion USD) in2014, up 10 percent over 2013.
The bank kept the bad debt ratio at 1.4 percent, ROA at around 0.6 percent and ROE at 6.9 percent, shareholders were told.-VNA