Woori to push for M&As in Southeast Asia

Bank CEO Lee supports globalization plan

By Kim Jae-won

Woori Bank is looking to increase its presence in Southeast Asia through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of lenders in the region, according to its CEO Lee Chong-hwi.

In a recent exclusive interview with The Korea Times, Lee said that he is carefully looking at a few banks in the region.

“We are considering increasing our presence in Vietnam and Cambodia by merging and acquiring lenders or opening new branches there. We already have two branches in Vietnam and are moving to enlarge them,” Lee said.

He said Korea’s second-largest lender by assets is making a shortlist for possible M&A targets in the region, but did not reveal any names, saying confidentiality was a key factor for successful M&A.

Lee said Woori will make Southeast Asia part of its globalization plan.

“Southeast Asian nations have many pluses. Many Korean companies are doing business there and the number of Korean expatriates in them is increasing,” he said.

The 62-year-old CEO said Woori’s information technology and banking know-how were competitive in the market compared to its competitors in the region, where the level of the financial industry leaves a great deal of room for improvement.

However, Lee excluded China as a candidate for M&A moves because Beijing does not allow foreign financial companies to have management rights at Chinese lenders. Beijing limits a foreign financial company’s stake in local lenders to below 20 percent.

The 40-year career banker said that he wants to continue to work at the lender, if he gets the chance, but would await the boardroom’s decision.

“I will appreciate it, if given a second term. I am not obsessed with it. I stand by my record and am willing to be judged by it.”

The Woori CEO was strong in his opinion that there should be no delay in the privatization of Woori Financial, the group to which his bank belongs.

The state-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. has a 57 percent stake in Woori Financial and plans to sell this by June.

“We have been under state control for more than 10 years and it can’t be delayed any longer,” he said, adding that this was better for the nation as well as for the viability of the bank.