UOB bank in Singapore.— File Photo
Singapore-based United Overseas Bank (UOB) will open its first branch in Viet Nam on July 2. It is the ninth wholly foreign-owned bank and first Singaporean bank in the country.
UOB Vietnam has a charter capital of VND3 trillion (US$131.3 million) and has permission to operate in Viet Nam for 99 years.
On March 23 last year, State Bank of Viet Nam announced that it had given preliminary approval to UOB to set up a branch in Viet Nam during a visit of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to the country. The bank received the in-principle licence in July last year.
Under the licence, the bank can expand its network in the country, enabling UOB to extend financial support and offer best-in-class products and services to consumers and businesses beyond HCM City.
UOB was founded in 1935. Since then, the bank has developed a global network of more than 500 offices in 19 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America.
In 2013, UOB set up the FDI Advisory Unit in Viet Nam, its ninth unit in the region, to offer integrated services to its clients expanding their businesses within the country and across borders.
UOB has also been promoting Viet Nam as an investment destination, supporting its regional clients venturing into and expanding within the country.
In 2015, UOB signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Viet Nam’s Foreign Investment Agency to facilitate trade and investment between Viet Nam and Southeast Asia.
Apart from UOB Vietnam, eight other foreign banks operating in the country are HSBC (Hong Kong), ANZ (Australia), Standard Chartered (United Kingdom), Shinhan Vietnam (South Korea), Hong Leong Bank, CIMB and Public Bank Berhad (Malaysia) and CitiBank (United States). — VNS