KEB Hana acquires major stake in VN’s BIDV for $970 million

SOUTH Korea’s KEB Hana Bank on Thursday said it is aggressively pursuing foreign strategic investments for expansion and has become the second-largest shareholder of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV ).

The country’s third-largest commercial bank has agreed to buy a 15 per cent stake, or 603,302,706 new shares, of BIDV from the State Bank of Vietnam. The deal marks the biggest acquisition in a foreign bank by a Korean lender, officials said.

The Vietnamese central bank was holding a 95.28 per cent stake in BIDV. KEB Hana Bank paid 1.15 trillion won ($970 million) for the stake, with which it expects to vitalise its New South Policy in earnest.

Until now, the bank has been focusing on providing services for Korean companies in Vietnam with its two branches – in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Lenders from Vietnam plan to expand t heir financial business and further cooperate with other affiliates of Hana Financial Group.

To do so, KEB Hana will offer its know-how in risk management and private financing to improve BIDV’s asset portfolio, officials said.

“We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to grow with BIDV. By providing advanced financial services, we hope the two banks will play a key role as a financial bridge between Korea and Vietnam,” said Hana Financial Group chairman and CEO Kim Jung-tai.

BIDV, one of the top four commercial banks along with Vietcom Bank, Vietin Bank and Agri Bank, was founded in 1957. The state-run commercial bank has various subsidiaries in securities, insurance, lease and asset management services.

Its total assets stood at 66.3 trillion won and posted a net profit of 380.9 billion won last year.

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