Shinhan Vietnam Bank Ltd, subsidiary of Korea’s leading lender Shinhan Bank, has opened its 32nd output in Hà Nam Province, south of Hanoi as the Southeast Asian emerges as one of Korea’s most important markets.

With the latest addition, Shinhan has the biggest foreign lender operating in Vietnam, the bank said on Wednesday. The bank plans to open four additional outlets by the end of this year.

The new outpost will primarily offer financial services to corporate clients in Hà Nam Province, some 50 kilometers south of Vietnam’s capital Hanoi and a part of Vietnam’s northern economic bloc blooming with foreign direct investments.

Shinhan Vietnam Bank has been Vietnam’s best-performing foreign financial lender over the last several years. It ranked No. 1 among foreign banks in Vietnam based on total assets last year and also the best-performing unit among Korean banks’ overseas subsidiaries in Southeast Asia based on first-quarter profit this year.

The lender has been moving aggressively to expand its presence in both corporate and personal financial service market in Vietnam. In January this year, it teamed up with Vietnam’s biggest mobile messenger Zalo to provide loans digitally. It also runs branches that offer premium financial services to rich individuals in affluent neighborhoods such as Phú My Hưng in southern Ho Chi Minh.

By Kim Tae-sung and Cho Jeehyun

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]