Industrial Bank of Korea officially launches Vietnam subsidiary, IBK Vietnam Bank

【HANOI, Vietnam = Kim Jun-seok, correspondent】After about nine years of licensing procedures in Vietnam, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) is set to officially launch its local subsidiary, IBK Vietnam Bank, and step up its operations in the country.
IBK said on the 14th that it held a launch ceremony for its local subsidiary, IBK Vietnam Bank, at the InterContinental Hanoi hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on the 13th. IBK Vietnam Bank received final approval from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to establish the subsidiary in April and completed the administrative procedures. It has already been operating officially since the 25th of last month.
The launch is significant because it follows a rigorous approval process by Vietnamese financial authorities. As the Vietnamese government pushes to restructure its banking industry and strictly controls approvals for foreign banks, IBK completed an approval process lasting about nine years and became the 10th foreign bank to establish a locally incorporated subsidiary in Vietnam.
IBK Vietnam Bank plans to offer differentiated financial services, drawing on its operating experience at branches in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and IBK’s more than 60 years of expertise in policy financing for small and medium-sized enterprises. It plans to aggressively expand its network around major industrial parks in Vietnam and support not only Korean companies operating in the country but also Vietnamese SMEs. Its goal is to provide productive finance and make a tangible contribution to economic cooperation between the two countries.
“The official launch of IBK Vietnam Bank marks a new starting point for the Vietnam localization strategy we have pursued since opening our Ho Chi Minh City branch in 2007,” said Park Kyung-il, head of IBK Vietnam Bank. “We will put customers first and practice responsible finance that serves as an umbrella in difficult times, developing into a dependable local bank that grows alongside Vietnam’s economy.”
[email protected] Kim Jun-seok Reporter