S. Korea’s Mirae Asset to buy Vietnam bank stake

S. Korea’s Mirae Asset to buy Vietnam bank stake
Source: thanhniennews

Mirae Asset Securities , the brokerage arm of South Korea’s top mutual fund firm, plans to buy 15 percent of a Vietnamese bank in its drive to expand in the rapidly growing local market, a newspaper said Saturday.



The Vietnam Economic Times said the South Korean firm, which opened a brokerage venture in Vietnam late last month, would buy shares of Ho Chi Minh City-based unlisted Phuong Nam Bank in phases.

Foreign firms have been stepping up operations in Vietnam where booming growth and economic liberalization are fuelling strong demand for financial services.

Phuong Nam Bank, in which Singapore’s United Overseas Bank already owns 10 percent, and Mirae Asset Securities have signed a memorandum of understanding over the purchase, the newspaper said without giving a timeframe.

Officials could not be reached Saturday for comment.

Vietnam caps foreign ownership in domestic banks at 30 percent, with a 15-percent limit for a single investor.

In exceptional cases, the government could allow a foreign strategic investor to own 20 percent in a domestic bank.