Italian bank gets green light for representative office 

Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, Italy’s biggest bank by market value, has been granted a five-year license from Vietnam’s central bank to open a representative office.

The Intesa office in Ho Chi Minh City will be the company’s first in Vietnam, the State Bank of Vietnam said in a statement posted Monday on its website.

Milan-based Intesa will do market research, develop projects and follow up on contracts with Vietnamese companies, the statement said.

Standard Chartered, HSBC Holdings and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group this year gained approval from the Vietnamese government to run fully foreign-owned units.

A total of 29 overseas banks have branches and another 38 foreign lenders have opened offices in Vietnam, according to the central bank’s website.

Thanhnien

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