Thailand's Kasikornbank Bank to open in Laos
Thailand's Kasikornbank Bank to open in Laos
KasikornBank (KBank), Thailand's fourth largest lender, has spent 1.2 billion baht to open a full-service branch in Vientiane, its first in another Asean member state, after receiving a licence from the Lao central bank recently.
The move comes as the bank seeks to take advantage of the greater business opportunities expected under the Asean Economic Community due to come into force late next year, Thailand's Bangkok Post reported on Friday.
The bank announced the establishment of Kasikorn Bank Ltd (KBank in Laos) on Thursday.
The new subsidiary shall be located in Vientiane with registered capital of 1.2 billion baht, meeting the US$40-million requirement set by the Bank of the Lao PDR.
KBank owns 90 percent of the subsidiary, while the other 10 percent is owned by another financial subsidiary, Kasikorn Asset Management.
As part of its regional expansion, KBank also plans to upgrade its representative office in Cambodia to become its second international branch in Asean, Bangkok Post quoted the president of the parent company Predee Daochai as saying.
Elsewhere in the region, it also has two representative offices in Vietnam and one in Myanmar.
K Bank stands ready to upgrade these to full branches once it is allowed to do so under the regulations of the respective countries. It recently applied for a branch licence from the Central Bank of Myanmar.
According to Reuters news agency, KBank, which has three branches and three representative offices in China, has ramped up regional expansion in preparation for the formation of a single Aean market by December 2015.
KBank is among a number of Thai banks looking to expand in the fast-growing economies of Southeast Asia, where many Thai companies have invested to diversify revenue sources and offset slower growth at home.
The KBank in Laos is expected to open this month, according to Reuters.
Laos's fast-growing economy in recent years has offered opportunities for new players in the nation's banking sector, with a number of both domestic and foreign banks setting up operations in the country.
Recently however, Laos has tightened its policies to ensure the long term viability of banking business investment and operations in the country.
In May this year, the Bank of the Lao PDR issued an announcement that imposes a temporary suspension on the establishment of new commercial banks in Laos by certain groups of businesses.
Under the new temporary rule, which is imposed from 2014-2016, consideration will not be made for requests to open new banks by individuals who are not operating or representing an existing bank or group of banking businesses.
B ut consideration and approval remains open for existing domestic banks or banking groups or banks registered in foreign countries to set up new offices or branches in Laos . The move is designed to allow the central bank time to evaluate the existing banking enterprises and introduce necessary policies to boost and strengthen banking business operations to support sustainable growth in the industry, the central bank said.
vientiane times
