CMC – Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, or Sacombank, last Friday officially started operation of its first branch in Chanthaboury District in Vientiane in Laos, becoming the first local lender to expand operation to the neighboring country.
The branch is the first step of Sacombank’s expansion strategy to regional countries. The Vientiane-based branch will operate services such as receiving deposits and giving loans for trading and manufacturing, and money transfer.
The bank in its statement said that capital demand of the Laotian economy is very big but there have been only three State-owned banks, five branches of foreign banks, two joint-venture banks, two private banks operating there.
Sacombank’s new branch in Laos will cash in on this opportunity, the bank said, adding it will diversify services and expand operation to other provinces in Laos in the years to come.
Earlier this year, Sacombank had opened its first representative office in China.
It is good for the Vietnamese bank because there are a lot of Vietnamese people in Vientiane. May be some Lao officials will open their accounts in this Vietnamese bank to hide their money.
