HANOI: With the opening of its first full-fledged banking institution in Hanoi today, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (CIMB) is just one step away from completely filling its Asean footprint.
The first branch will pave the way for its second branch in Ho Chi Minh, which is set to open in March next year.
The full banking licence is the first to be issued by the government of Vietnam to a foreign bank since 2009.
A 100 per cent subsidiary, CIMB Bank (Vietnam) Limited, will be carrying out the full range of banking products and services, with the ability to expand at its own pace as needed.
The licence allows CIMB Vietnam to offer the full range of corporate, commercial and consumer banking products in the country. Thus far, only seven foreign banks have been awarded a licence to operate a 100 per cent banking subsidiary in Vietnam.
Its group chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz said CIMB plans to use a different banking approach in Vietnam, leveraging on the younger and more technologically-savvy demographics the country offers.
"In Vietnam, 40 per cent of its population are under 25 years of age, and therefore, we can afford to try out the digital banking proposition.
"We will likely introduce more digital solutions as the way forward. As it is, 95 per cent of our banking is already done digitally.
"With a fast-pace development in Vietnam, we think it is a suitable cut for our digital banking platform to be more fully introduced," he told Malaysian media during a visit to Hanoi recently.
It is learnt that CIMB has eight branches in total planned for Vietnam. Its next and final destination would be the Philippines, which will be in the second half of 2017.
Also present at the opening were Malaysian ambassador to Vietnam, Mohd Zamruni Khalid, CIMB Group chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, State Bank of Vietnam director of licencing Bui Huy Tho and CIMB Vietnam chairman Datuk Zainal Abidin.