KEB Hana spurs expansion in India

KEB Hana Bank Europe and Middle East region headquarters manager Kwon Ho-sang, third from left, cuts a ribbon with participants in the opening ceremony of the bank's Gurugram branch in Haryana, India, Friday (local time). / Courtesy of KEB Hana Bank

By Park Jae-hyuk

KEB Hana Bank opened its second Indian branch, Friday, in Gurugram, Haryana, as part of its attempts to expand its presence in India, one of the major partners for the Korean government's New Southern Policy, the bank said Sunday.

Gurugram, located 30 kilometers southwest of the Indian capital of New Delhi, neighbors Noida, a planned city accommodating manufacturing facilities of Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.

According to KEB Hana, the new branch was opened to finance 120 Korean companies in the capital area of India, as well as promising local firms there.

To achieve this goal, the Korean bank signed a memorandum of understanding with Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Bank, the second-largest bank in India, promising financial support for local blue-chips.

“We are happy to open the second Indian branch in Gurugram, following the success of the Chennai branch,” KEB Hana Bank Europe and Middle East region headquarters manager Kwon Ho-sang said. “Early next year, we will open new branches in Mumbai, the financial center of India, and Bengaluru, the IT industry hub of India.”

As the Gurugram branch will be in charge of the bank's business in northern India including the capital, KEB Hana said its first Indian branch in Chennai will manage its business in the southern region, where Hyundai Motor's Indian subsidiary and its subcontractors are located.