South Korea’s lending major KB Kookmin Bank on Monday opened its first Indian branch in Gurugram, Haryana, to expand in India and the Asia-Pacific region.

KB Kookmin Bank advanced into India in 2012 by opening a liaison office in Mumbai and moved the office to Gurugram to transfer it into a branch.

Gurugram is the financial and industrial hub in the southwest of New Delhi, the capital city of India. It is home to many global companies’ Indian operations including Korea’s tech giant Samsung Electronics.

KB Kookmin Bank will offer banking and capital market services at the outpost with an aim to expand its network in the country. The bank expects the Indian branch also would pave its way into other markets nearby such as the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.

Before KB Kookmin Bank, four Korean lenders have been already operating their branches in India - Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, KEB Hana Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK).

KB Kookmin Bank has kept up efforts to expand its global reach under the leadership of CEO Hur Yin. Hur visiting Southeast and South Asia on Feb.14-21 met with Indonesia’s Bank Bukopin executives to strengthen ties and will stop by its Vietnamese branch in Hanoi to celebrate the opening.

By Kim Tae-sung and Lee Ha-yeon

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