KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd will be spreading its wings to Vietnam. It has been given the nod by Vietnam’s central bank to operate a banking branch in the country, said the banking group in a press release last Friday.

CIMB Group said the in-principle approval allows the group to operate a wholly-owned subsidiary that offers full-fledged banking services such as wholesale, commercial and consumer banking products and services in Vietnam.

CIMB Group is aiming for its first branch in Hanoi to be fully operational by the third quarter of 2016, during which the banking group is expecting to secure the full operating banking licence. Currently, CIMB Group’s presence in Vietnam is limited to brokerage services via its partnership with VNDIRECT, a Vietnam-based brokerage firm.

CIMB Group’s group chief executive Tengku Datuk Zafrul Aziz said: “With the foray into Vietnam, we will be able to further solidify our position as the leading Asean bank and offer the much-needed regional connectivity to intermediate trade and investment flows. We also believe that the addition of a full banking licence in Vietnam is timely, as the region welcomes the commencement of the Asean Economic Community later this year,” he added.

Last Friday, CIMB’s share price closed 0.19% higher at RM5.30, with a market capitalisation of RM45 billion. Over the last three months, the counter has slipped 10.62% from RM6.01.

This article first appeared in digitaledge Daily, on August 10, 2015.