Taiwanese banks rushing to set up footholds in Vietnam

Taipei, May 9, 2005 (CENS)--Taiwanese banks are stepping up establishing footholds in Vietnam to cash in on the growing investments there by Taiwanese enterprises.

So far, a total of eight Taiwanese banks have set up 12 footholds in Vietnam, with First Commercial Bank having applied to the Vietnamese government for upgrading its representative there to a branch. In addition, the Cathay United Bank has been approved to set up a representative office there as well.

The Cabinet-level Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) noted that domestic banks have in recent years actively established footholds in Vietnam since more and more Taiwanese enterprises have expanded their operations there. Of the 12 footholds set up in Vietnam by Taiwanese banks, eight are located in Ho Chi Minh City and four in Hanoi. In addition to First Commercial and Cathay United, other Taiwanese banks that have operations in Vietnam include ChinFon Commercial Bank, International Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Bank Sinopac, Hua Nan Commercial Bank, Chinatrust Commercial Bank, and Union Bank of Taiwan.

The statistics released by the Vietnamese government showed that Taiwan, next only to Singapore, is today Vietnam's second-largest foreign investor in Vietnam in terms of investment value and the number of investment cases.

A ranking official at First Commercial noted that Vietnam is the favorite alternative for Taiwanese banks to set up their overseas footholds as the governments between the Taiwan Strait have yet to reach a consensus on the financial monitoring system and Vietnam is next only to mainland China in attracting investments from Taiwan.

The official believed that Vietnam is a potential market for Taiwanese banks because the country has in recent years attracted increasing foreign investors, particularly those from Taiwan.

In addition to Taiwanese clients, the government-run enterprises in Vietnam are also potential clients for Taiwan's banks there, the official observed.