Shinhan Bank, one of South Korea’s leading banks, has set up a branch in Myanmar becoming the first Korean bank to open a branch in the country. The establishment of the Myanmar subsidiary came after the bank’s acquirement of a preliminary approval from the Central Bank of Myanmar, the banking supervisory body of the country, earlier this year. The branch becomes Shinhan Bank’s 147th international outlet operating in 20 countries. The bank already has a presence in Singapore and Vietnam.
Their Myanmar business will play a crucial role in accessing deeper to the ASEAN market, said Shinhan, adding that the country’s improvements in political stability is expected to intensify its economic growth. Shinhan, the first bank in the history of Korea established in 1897, expects its Myanmar business to become thriving like that of Vietnam where it has successfully offered banking services since 1995. They expect to see their Myanmar operations reach the level of what they are doing in Vietnam, said a spokesman for the financial group.
There are other Korean banks including Woori Bank and KEB Hana Bank that have been providing microfinance services without setting up a physical entity in the country. Although Korean banks made bids for operating licences when Myanmar first approved foreign bankers to do business in the country in October 2014, they lost to other international competitors like Japanese and Singaporean banking corporations.
Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, Shinhan Bank is the fourth largest bank in Korea by assets.
