Japanese lender aims to buy into OCB
Japanese lender aims to buy into OCB
The Japan-based Aozora Bank wants to acquire a 15 per cent stake in Viet Nam’s Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) in April 2020, Aozora announced on Wednesday. 
The deal is expected to be worth about 15 billion Japanese yen (US$139 million), marking its first overseas deal since 2001.
If successful, Aozora will become the largest shareholder of OCB. It will help OCB improve risk management and compliance systems based on international standards.
They will work together on digital banking and investment banking services, as well as on providing support for Japanese companies seeking to expand into Viet Nam.
OCB recently sent a proposal to ask its shareholders to approve the deal. The decision will be made on January 15.
The HCM City-based OCB provides retail banking services and lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises, with about 130 branches across Viet Nam.
As of September 30, 2019, OCB had VND106.4 trillion ($4.6 billion) worth of total assets, up 6.4 per cent from the end of 2018. It was the 20th biggest bank in terms of total asset value.
In the nine month period, OCB earned nearly VND3 trillion in net revenue, up 20 per cent on-year, but its post-tax profit increased by only 5 per cent yearly to VND1.55 trillion.
The Japanese bank is headquartered in Tokyo. It is listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange with total assets of $50 billion.
