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ACLEDA bank to develop cross border services in Mekong region
ACLEDA Bank Lao Ltd plans to establish cross border financial services between Laos, Myanmar, China and Vietnam in the near future.
“We plan to cooperate with ACELDA bank branches that will open in Myanmar. A cross border service office may be located in Bokeo province,” the bank's CEO and Managing Director Mr Narin Phon said recently.
The cooperation project may begin in 2013 or 2014 “or it may launch by the end of this year,” he said.
“After that we hope to have cross border cooperation with ACELDA in China that will provide similar banking services in border regions. Then cross border services between Laos and Vietnam are set to follow in the coming years as we plan cooperation with future ACELDA banks in Vietnam.”
As part of its expansion plans, ACLEDA Bank Plc plans to establish branches in all the countries located on the Mekong River, and to provide international banking services to the people of the Greater Mekong sub-region. The bank hopes to have cross border services soon because currently “ACLEDA Bank Plc is conducting a study on the establishment of branches in those three countries,” Mr Narin said.
ACLEDA Bank Lao was the first Cambodian based commercial bank to operate in Laos. Its shareholders are ACLEDA Bank Plc (Cambodia), the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) and the Netherlands' Development Finance Company, Triodos-Doen, and Triodos Fair Share Fund.
The bank already has cross border services between Laos and Cambodia. It hopes to extend banking services to promote trade payments, investments and financial transactions between Laos and the three surrounding countries.
It will work on providing greater international financial services for companies engaged in investment projects or operating businesses in Laos, and will also provide money transfer facilities for Lao people living in China, Myanmar and Vietnam.
The bank recognises the increasing demand for cross border banking, particularly amongst business people involved in the import and export trade and also for currency exchange services, and hopes to capitalise on that demand. The expansion will also bring additional services such as ATMs and credit card facilities to communities where it opens branches or service points.
The Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development reported that by October last year, the total annual cross-border turnover in the Dan Savanh-Lao Bao area between Laos and Vietnam alone was in excess of US$4 million.
ACLEDA Bank Lao has a capital expenditure budget of US$2 million every year, to put towards improvements and expansion. It has seen an increase in the number of deposit account holders. It had 15,305 deposit accounts holding about 244 billion kip (US$30,385,616 million) at the end of last year, up from about 152 billion kip (US$19 million) in 2010.
It has so far exceeded its targets because of the increasing number of family businesses and small and medium sized enterprises that deposit or borrow money with the bank, which specialises in catering to their needs.
Borrowers include farmers, fish breeders, transport service providers and grocery merchants. The bank also provides personal loans so people can buy cars or motorbikes.
vientiane times
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