Banking in Vietnam
Shinhan Bank announced on Nov. 24 that its local subsidiary Shinhan Vietnam Bank obtained approval to open three branch banks and one transaction office from the central bank of Vietnam.
The simultaneous approval for that many entities is unprecedented, and is because the Vietnam government changed its branch permission for non-Vietnamese banks to a yearly batch approval. Shinhan Vietnam Bank is slated to run a total of 14 business channels next year.
The three branches are to be located in Haiphong, Thai Nguyen, and An Dong, Ho Chi Minh City, and the transaction office is going to be housed in Pham Hung, Hanoi. These are scheduled to be established within one year from approval, according to central bank regulations.
These days, a number of foreign invested companies are interested in Haiphong and Thai Nguyen, where an industrial complex as wide as 6,000 ha is under construction regarding free trade agreements and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Shinhan is planning to provide advanced financial services for companies doing business there.
An Dong, Ho Chi Minh is a commercial area having large wholesale and retail markets. Shinhan is going to appoint a local branch manager there to better win over SOHO customers. At the same time, differentiated retail financial services are to be provided for Korean residents, workers and individual Vietnamese customers in Pham Hung, Hanoi, which is gaining popularity as a residential area.
Established in 2011, Shinhan Vietnam Bank is the only Korean banking subsidiary in the country. At present, more than 100 relation managers are working for it and its customers, about 90 percent of which are locals, include over 400 Vietnamese companies and approximately 200,000 individuals. Last year, it was selected as the top corporate credit card service provider.