IBK chief leads overseas expansion
By Kim Bo-eun
Industrial Bank of Korea Chairman Kim Do-jin / Korea Times file
chief of the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) is leading efforts to expand the lender's presence overseas, especially in Southeast Asia.
According to the state-run bank, its chairman Kim Do-jin visited Myanmar in March for talks with the Central Bank of Myanmar's governor on changing their IBK office there into a corporate body.
IBK also plans to launch its corporate body in Indonesia within the year by integrating with the country's Bank Agris it acquired earlier this year.
In Vietnam, IBK is preparing to upgrade two branches each in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi to corporate entities.
"We applied in 2017 to turn the branches into subsidiaries. It usually takes about three years so we expect to be able to open subsidiaries by the end of this year or next year," an IBK official said.
It is the bank's goal to have 165 offices, branches and subsidiaries in 20 countries by the end of 2025.
The bank has been accelerating efforts to achieve this goal. Last November, it opened an office in Vladivostok and a branch in Phnom Penh in December.
The lender currently operates 16 subsidiaries, nine branches and three offices in 12 countries, as well as 30 branches of Indonesia's Bank Agris and Bank Mitraniaga.
It has 16 subsidiaries in China and offices in Yangon, Jakarta and Vladivostok. Its branches are in New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, London, Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, New Delhi, Manila and Phnom Penh.
The bank has a large presence in China due to Korean small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) entry into the market as contractors producing products of conglomerates such as Samsung Electronics and LG Display.
"IBK continues to expand its network focusing on countries in which Korean SMEs operate," the official said.
The region the bank is currently focusing on is Southeast Asia.
“Our aim is to establish an 'IBK belt' in the region,” he said. The IBK chairman has stressed the goal since he assumed his position in December 2016.
In regions such as Europe, South America and Australia, where Korean SMEs have less of a presence, or where they face regulations that make it difficult for them to enter markets, IBK is assisting them through partnerships with local banks.
It has extended a total of $360 million in loans to firms in 17 countries in partnership with local banks.