NongHyup Financial speeds up global expansion

NongHyup Financial Group Chairman Kim Gwang-soo / Yonhap

By Kim Bo-eun

NongHyup Financial Group is accelerating a drive to expand its global presence amid tough business conditions here.

The group's bank unit filed for regulatory approval to switch its office in Beijing into a bank branch, signaling the start of it doing business there.

NongHyup Bank is also preparing to set up branches in Hong Kong and in India, as well as Myanmar and Australia.

According to the bank, it is in the process of receiving regulatory approval from the authorities in Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City ― it is also getting ready to apply for approval for the branch in Sydney, Australia.

NongHyup has a subsidiary in Myanmar, the microfinance institution NongHyup Finance Myanmar, but is preparing to launch a bank branch there as well. It has opened an office in Yangon with plans to switch this to a bank branch. NongHyup, as an agricultural bank that has a focus on providing financing for farmers, is seeking to provide similar services there as Myanmar is an agriculture-based economy.

The bank has an office in New Delhi but is planning to open a branch in the adjacent city of Noida.

NongHyup Capital is also set to launch a credit business in Myanmar and India with local entities.

The financial group's strategy is to enter and grow business in fast-growing markets in Southeast Asia, and find investment banking opportunities in developed markets such as Europe and the U.S.

The group is seeking for its brokerage unit to change its office in London to a subsidiary, while NongHyup Bank is looking to set up a joint office with NH-Amundi Asset Management in the UK capital.

NongHyup Bank also plans to set up investment banking divisions at its outlets in the U.S., Hong Kong and Sydney.

"The group plans on utilizing the network the brokerage unit has set up in developed markets, for sourcing deals," a NongHyup Financial Group official said.

NongHyup group affiliates currently operate 16 outlets in nine countries.

Its banking unit has a presence in six countries ― with subsidiaries in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Yangon, Myanmar; branches in New York and Hanoi; and offices in Beijing, New Delhi and Ho Chi Minh City.

NH's brokerage arm has subsidiaries in New York, Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam, while also running offices in London and Shanghai.

The capital firm set up a joint company with a local entity in China.

The group's goal is to have 28 outlets in 13 countries by 2025, and thereby boost earnings.

"Financial firms face a limit in doing business here, as the local market is mostly saturated," the official said.

"While plans are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, we will proceed with our global expansion as planned.”