Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr
Korean banks in Vietnam ride on Park fever
Shinhan Bank Vietnam model Park Hang-seo, the head coach of Vietnam's national football team, holds a sign promoting Shinhan Bank Vietnam SOL, a new all-in-one mobile banking application on Nov. 6. / Courtesy of Shinhan Bank
By Lee Kyung-min
By Lee Kyung-min
Korean banks are enjoying growing brand recognition in Vietnam on the back of “explosive” popularity associated with Park Hang-seo, the head coach of the national football team who helped the southeastern country become the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup champion.
The notable embrace followed his remarks asking that the Vietnamese public love his country as much as it loves him.
“I would like to share the joy of victory with my players, the coach and the Vietnamese people. Please love my country Korea as much as you love me,” he said Dec. 15 (local time) at the MyDinh Stadium in Hanoi.
Shinhan Bank has seen the greatest benefit after hiring Park and Luong Xuan Truong, a soccer player of the Vietnamese national team, as celebrity endorsers.
The number of customers increased to about 1.2 million won as of Dec. 10, a 20 percent increase from the 1 million Shinhan had before Park became the lender's model.
Shinhan Card customers there also jumped over 10 percent from 190,000 to 210,000, while the number of online banking users spiked 45 percent to 180,000 from 124,000.
Given the figures are from before the Suzuki Cup win, the number of customers is expected to soar in the coming months, the bank said.
“We indeed have seen our brand awareness greatly enhanced with Vietnamese people, especially in the lead up to the Suzuki Cup, considered the World Cup among Southeast Asian countries. We expect the number of customers will grow,” a Shinhan official said.
Park Hang-seo, the head coach of Vietnam's national football team
Shinhan Bank Vietnam recorded a net income of 58.6 billion won ($52 million) in the first half of 2018, a 57.9 percent increase from a year earlier. The net income, only about 4 billion won short of last year's 62.5 billion won, is the highest recorded among Korean banks with foreign entities there.
Shinhan Bank Vietnam, the largest foreign-invested financial firm there with over 30 branches, first opened an office in Ho Chi Minh City in 1993.
The bank's business prospects were boosted following the acquisition of Australia's ANZ, which helped with the bank's retail business by strengthening lending services for locals there.
The bank's online app SOL with over 110,000 Vietnamese subscribers is becoming popular following upgraded features including a customizable interface for customers' app usage habits as well as a secure login.
Woori Bank with 300 workers in seven offices there opened a branch in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 1997 and 2006, respectively. It was granted an approval for operation of a corporate entity in 2016.
“We are developing tailored services for locals involving loans for salaried workers, mortgages, and credit cards, among others. We will also strengthen corporate banking services while upgrading online, mobile banking services for individual customers” a Woori official said.
Other Korean lenders are also benefitting from the Park fever.
KB Kookmin Bank is set to open a branch in Hanoi in February 2019. NongHyup Bank opened an office in Ho Chi Minh City in November. KEB Hana Bank has office each in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.