Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) said on Friday that it will sell its retail banking business in Vietnam to Shinhan Bank Vietnam, after much speculations about several financial institutions (including VIB) to buy the asset.
Shinhan Bank Vietnam is part of the Shinhan Financial Group, a South Korean company listed on the Korean and New York stock exchanges. It entered the Southeast Asian market in 1993, opening its first office in Ho Chi Minh City.
In 2008, it was licensed to set up a 100 percent-owned subsidiary in Vietnam before acquiring remaining stake at the local joint venture with Vietcombank in 2011.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed but it was said that the premium to book value for the sale was not material to ANZ.
ANZ’s division served up to 125,00 customers in Vietnam and include A$320 million (about US$241 million) in lending assets and A$800 million (about US$ 603 million) in deposits.
This news comes a month after ANZ’s announcement that it will sell its Vietnamese wealth and retail operations, to focus on its institutional banking ops including capital markets, bond markets, cash-flow management, corporate and investment banking, among others.
“The sale of our retail business is in line with our strategy to simplify the bank and improve capital efficiency. It allows us to focus resources on our largest business in Asia – institutional banking – where we are a top four corporate bank supporting regional trade and capital flows,” said ANZ Group’s Executive Farhan Faruqui.
Looking at the deal, the sale will include the transference of all eight branches located in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to the South Korean bank, along with the retention of the entire retail staffs. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
“We have a long history in Vietnam and we will be maintaining our presence through our Institutional Bank in Vietnam which will continue to support our corporate clients in the Greater Mekong Region,” Faruqui added.
On another note, ANZ is also examining the sale of retail units in the Philippines, Cambodia and Laos, in separate deals from last year’s Us$80 million divestment to DBS.
By Vivian Foo, VCNewsNetwork
