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Thu, February 3, 2022 | 00:58
Companies
KB, IBK compete for banking license in Myanmar
Posted : 2019-10-03 17:00
Updated : 2019-10-03 19:03
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KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin
KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin
By Jhoo Dong-chan

KB Kookmin Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) want to enter the Myanmar banking market, officials from each bank said Thursday.

In line with the Moon Jae-in administration's New Southern Policy, they have already entered the Vietnamese market to overcome the saturated domestic market. And Myanmar is becoming their next target, reflecting the country's rapid economic growth.

Shinhan Bank received approval from Myanmar's financial authorities for its banking operation there in 2016. KB and the IBK have offices in the country, but have yet to win approval to operate banks.

The Myanmar government has granted two approvals and announced recently it would grant another banking license by the end of the year.

Of Korea's commercial banks, KB Kookmin has been the most active to win the license.

KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin visited the country with President Moon Jae-in last month. During his trip, a KB Kookmin Bank official said Hur showed the biography of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi written in Korean.

"We are doing our best to leave a good impression with government officials there," the official said.

KB Kookmin Bank last month inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Yangon regional government to sponsor the city's home development project for low-income people. In a bid to help the project, the bank also signed a partnership with the Human Resources Development Service of Korea to send construction experts.

"KB Kookmin Bank has displayed a successful business model in Cambodia," the bank official said. "We believe the bank's digitized banking model will be successful in Myanmar. If KB gets an approval from the Myanmar government for banking operations there, it will turn its Yangon office into a bank branch."

KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin
Industrial Bank of Korea CEO Kim Do-jin
IBK is expected to demonstrate its vast experience in financing small and medium enterprises.

IBK CEO Kim Do-jin met Myanmar's central bank governor last month to highlight the bank's strengths in corporate financing.

It is also participating in the two countries' joint industrial complex construction project. The project is led by LH, the Korean government-owned corporation responsible for the development of land in cities, and the maintenance and management of land and housing.

"We stressed the importance of the banking license with the Myanmar government to conclude the project successfully," an IBK official said.

"The IBK established a corporate body in Indonesia last month. We will do our utmost to get approval there. This is part of the bank's goal to set up its financial belt in Southeast Asia."


Emailjhoo@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter



 
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