ANZ Laos opens new office in Savannakhet
ANZ Laos opens new office in Savannakhet
ANZ Laos, one of the largest foreign banks in Laos, has opened a corporate office in Savannakhet as part of efforts to expand its business into the nation's other major cities, after Savannakhet has seen a rapid rise in foreign investment.
Savannaket province Deputy Governor Mr Khampheu Phanthachone, Australian Ambassador to Laos Mr John Williams and ANZ Laos CEO Ms Tammy Medard cut a ribbon to mark the opening of the new office on October 21.
The office has a Wifi network so the bank's clients can hold business meetings and access the internet to help them communicate with business partners, colleagues and friends.
In addition to connecting into the ANZ network, the ANZ Savannakhet corporate office will be used to host clients looking to expand into Laos and who visit Savannakhet on a reconnaissance mission.
ANZ Laos said in its media release that the opening of its office in Savannakhet was motivated by the bank's policy to position itself in major cities in Laos where multinational companies are doing business. Incentives provided by the Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone were another reason for the bank's expansion into the area.
There are a number of international firms operating in the Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone in Savannakhet province including Nikon and Toyota. The zone is expected to attract many foreign investments thanks to the launch of the Asean Economic Community at the end of this year.
The Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone has road access to large consumer markets. It is about 500 kilometres away from ports in both Thailand and Vietnam. It is situated along the East-West Economic Corridor which is a 1,450km route linking Myanmar's Mawlamyine Port and Vietnam's Danang Port, and has road connections to China's Yunnan province in the north and Cambodia in the south.
The opening of the Savannakhet office marks a significant milestone in ANZ's expansion into the provinces, in a bid to gain more customers.
The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited began operating in Laos as the ANZ Vientiane Commercial Bank Ltd in September 2007 with the purchase of a majority shareholding in the Vientiane Commercial Bank Ltd., a privately owned bank that had been operating in Laos for 14 years.
ANZ moved to 100 percent ownership in August 2010.
There are more than 30 banks in Laos. The increasing number of banks helps business operators to obtain cheaper loans so they can use these funds to expand their business, which the government believes will help create jobs and income for Lao people.
