Vietcombank first local lender to open Australia branch

The branch will open in Sydney and have a registered capital of AUD71 million ($48.08 million), according to the State Bank of Vietnam’s (SBV) approval document released Wednesday.

Vietcombank must complete the opening of the branch within 24 months from the date of the SBV’s approval, after which it expires, the document says.

This move is an important step in Vietcombank’s global expansion strategy, in which it aims to gain a place among the world’s top 300 banking and financial groups by 2020, it said in a statement.

In June this year, Vietcombank received the final permit to set up a representative office in New York City of the U.S. from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

Vietcombank has more than 500 branches, representative offices, and member companies in Vietnam and overseas, including a financial company in Hong Kong, a money transfer company in the U.S., a representative office in Singapore and a subsidiary in Laos.

The lender is one of three Vietnamese banks among the world’s most valuable brands, according to Brand Finance, a global branded business valuation and strategy consultancy.

Vietcombank, BIDV and Vietinbank are Vietnam’s three biggest banks in Forbes’s list of 2,000 largest listed firms in the world. In the Forbes ranking released in May, Vietcombank jumped 198 spots to 1,096th with revenues of $3.1 billion and a market value of $10.9 billion.

Japan’s Mizuho Bank is Vietcombank’s largest foreign shareholder, with a 15 percent stake, while the Vietnamese state holds 74.8 percent.