CIMB Group To Make Foray Into Manila In 2H17

From Siti Radziah Hamzah HANOI, Dec 9 (Bernama) -- CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, a Malaysia-based provider of banking products and services, and financial services plans to open a branch in Manila in the second half of 2017 to complete its footprint in the ASEAN region. Group Chief Executive Officer Tengku Zafrul Aziz said the group was awaiting approvals from Bank Negara Malaysia (Malaysia's Central Bank) and the Philippine central bank for the licence. "The plan is to open a branch (in Manila), unlike Vietnam where we have a subsidiary," he told the Malaysian media in an interview. The group launched its Vietnam subsidiary, CIMB Bank (Vietnam) Ltd on Friday. CIMB Group becomes the third Malaysian bank to set up a subsidiary in Vietnam after Public Bank Bhd and Hong Leong Bank Bhd. The expansion is part of CIMB's Target 18 (T18) initiative, a strategic review exercise which started in January 2014, to complete its ASEAN platform. Malaysia's second largest bank by assets, CIMB has acquired the first full fledge banking licence for foreign bank to operate in Vietnam in September this year after striving since 2009. The licence allows CIMB Vietnam to offer the full range of corporate, commercial and consumer banking products in the country. So far, only seven foreign banks have been awarded a licence to operate a 100 per cent banking subsidiary in Vietnam. In Vietnam, Tengku Zafrul said the group would be focusing on three main areas, namely infrastructure, manufacturing, and oil and gas. He said CIMB Group would leverage the strength of ASEAN companies which planned to tap into the Vietnamese market. Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul said Vietnam would be a different ballgame where group aimed to focus on digital banking as 40 per cent of the country's population were below 25 years and were comfortable with technology. "Currently, 95 per cent of the group's products are carried out through our digital platform," he said. CIMB is now present in nine out of 10 ASEAN nations, while beyond ASEAN, it has market presence in China, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Korea, the US, and the UK. --BERNAMA