Foreign banks will open branches in Vietnam

by Richard Kilner

Story link: Foreign banks will open branches in Vietnam

Vietnam will soon see branches of three foreign banks open; Taiwan’s Taipei Fubon Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea and Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

The three banks will soon be licensed to open branches, according to a statement released this week by the State Bank of Vietnam. The precise timing of licences being granted and the location of any potential branches was not detailed in the statement.

There are already approximately 30 foreign banks and 40 branches operating in Vietnam’s rapidly growing economy.

Ho Chi Minh City, the national centre of commerce and finance, is already host to a representative office of the Industrial Bank of Korea. The State Bank of Vietnam has said that preliminary approval for an increase in the number of domestic joint stock banks has been granted, with nine Vietnamese banks awaiting their licences.

There are 4,000 bank branches throughout Vietnam, half of them operated by the country’s largest state-owned business Agribank.

Inflation in Vietnam went over 12% in December 2007, prompting the government to aim a credit growth limit in the range of 22-25%.

Last year saw the economy expand by almost 8.5%, with a target of 9% for 2008.