Kbank inks second partnership in VN

The move marks its second partnership agreement with a Viet-namese bank.
KBank aims to have partners in all nine of Thailand’s fellow Asean member countries by the end of the year, boosting its overall branch network in the region to more than 5,000 outlets.
Executive vice president Songpol Chevapanyaroj said yesterday that KBank was consistently expanding its service network in support of international business by creating alliances with banks in each country, in preparation for the AEC’s implementation in 2015.
Vietnam is among the first Asean countries where KBank has strengthened its coverage to support Thai investors, most of them being in the manufacturing sector, including construction materials, food and energy.
Last year, KBank joined with VietinBank, which is prominent in technology-oriented operations and foreign business and has expertise in diverse industries. VietinBank has expanded rapidly, posting the highest net profit among Vietnamese banks last year.
To enhance service provision in Vietnam, KBank has now also established a partnership with Agribank, which is wholly owned by the Vietnamese government |and specialises in the agricultural industry.
Agribank’s branch network is |the largest in Vietnam, with more than 2,300 outlets nationwide operated by more than 37,000 staff members.
As part of the agreements with Agribank and VietinBank, KBank will jointly provide financial services to customers in the neighbouring market. These include account management, domestic and international transactions, loans, financial advisory service on trade and market competition – and relevant regulations – for decision-making, joint business activities such as seminars and business-matching, and staff exchange programmes.
These services, derived from the maximum potential of the partner banks, will benefit Thai business operators, Songpol said.
He said the strategy of partnership with local banks helped KBank’s branch-establishment costs, as well as its investment in human resources.
Most important, KBank customers, including cross-border investors, will be able to easily access banking services through branches of the bank’s local partners, served by experienced staff.
Local banks, which have better expertise and understanding of the working system and economic and social environment in their home countries, will be able to provide useful information for KBank customers, while the joint banking activities of the bank and partners will enhance customer business on both sides, the executive added.
In the partnership-creation process, KBank currently has seven bank allies in four Asean countries: Indonesia, with 1,316 branches; Singapore with 26 branches; Laos with 21 branches; and Vietnam with the combined 3,400 branches of VietinBank and Agribank.