S.Korea's Woori Bank to form Vietnam unit by July

Kumho Tire

21/06/2016 11:57

By Joyce Lee and Ho Binh Minh 
    SEOUL/HANOI, June 21 (Reuters) - South Korea's Woori Bank 
 000030.KS  expects to establish a Vietnam unit this month or in 
July, a bank official said on Tuesday, as part of the lender's 
plans to expand its network in the expanding market of Southeast 
Asia.   
    Woori Bank, South Korea's largest bank in terms of 
consolidated assets as of the end of March, is awaiting approval 
from relevant authorities to established a wholly-owned unit in 
Vietnam, the official said. 
    A Vietnamese banking source said the State Bank of Vietnam, 
the country's central bank, was expected to grant a licence for 
the South Korean lender shortly. 
    South Korea is now the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam, 
with large investments placed to turn it into a Southeast Asian 
production hub by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd  005930.KS  and LG 
Electronics Inc  066570.KS . 
    Other major Korean companies in Vietnam include Kumho 
Construction  KMHASE.UL , Posco group, Hanjin  HANJ.UL  
Logistics and Kumho Tire  073240.KS . 
    A free trade agreement between South Korea and Vietnam that 
came into effect last December gives more incentives for Korean 
firms to invest.  
    Woori Bank's Vietnam unit, once licensed, would most likely 
be a vehicle to expand South Korean investment in a country 
where it has been limited to operating two branches. Other 
competitors include HSBC, ANZ, Standard Chartered Bank as well 
as Shinhan Bank. 
    With the expected approval, Woori Bank would seek to 
strengthen its localised service to Vietnamese retail customers 
through channels including its mobile banking platform Wibee 
Bank and chat app Wibee Talk. 
  
 
 (Reporting by Joyce Lee in SEOUL and Ho Binh Minh in HANOI; 
Editing by Keith Weir) 
 ((ho.minh@tr.com; +844 3825 9623; Reuters Messaging: 
ho.minh.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net;)) 
 
Keywords: WOORI BANK VIETNAM/