Shinhan opens 4 more branches in Vietnam

Shinhan Bank CEO Jin Ok-dong, sixth from right, Shinhan Bank Vietnam's General Director Shin Dong-min, first from left, alongside officials from the Southeast Asian country cut a tape at an opening ceremony of the bank's four new branches there, Aug. 15. Courtesy of Shinhan Bank

By Lee Kyung-min

Shinhan Bank Vietnam has opened four new branches in Vietnam Aug.15 (local time), cementing itself as the largest foreign bank with a network of 36 branches in the Southeast Asian nation, it said Friday.

The new branches ― set up in Da Nang, Hanoi, Hai Phong and Binh Duong ― were among six that have opened this year.

A total of 20 branches near Ho Chi Minh City are in operation in the southern part of the nation, and 15 near Hanoi in the northern part.

Shinhan was the first foreign bank to have opened the branch in Da Nang, the central part of the country.

“The new branches will help us maintain a more closely integrated business network in Vietnam. We will continue to expand our business channels there to compete not as a foreign bank but as an equal player with local banks,” a Shinhan official said.

The opening is the latest of the bank's business expansion there.

In June, Shinhan Bank Vietnam opened a private wealth management (PWM) center in the Phu My Hung district of Ho Chi Minh City, its first branch there set up to meet the need of a growing number of high-end customers.

Shinhan Bank Vietnam General Director Shin Dong-min will double as the regional head of the Indochina region encompassing Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Shin is expected to play a vital role in boosting cooperation among the countries and help the bank better adapt to the fast-changing global financial environment.

Shinhan Bank Vietnam'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 with upgraded features including a customizable interface for customers' app usage habits as well as a secure login.

Meanwhile, Shinhan Financial Group will continue to boost efforts to help Shinhan Bank Vietnam to strengthen cooperation and integration with the group's card, financial investment, life insurance and digital solution subsidiaries.

This is part of One Shinhan, an initiative spearheaded by group chairman Cho Yong-byoung whose business priority lies in maximizing corporate efficiency via closer integration among subsidiaries.

Shinhan Group posted a 996.1 billion won ($841 million) net profit in the second quarter of 2019, up 8.5 percent from the quarter before.

Shinhan Bank posted 663.7 billion won in net profit in the April-June period, up 7.4 percent form a quarter earlier.