|
Lao Development Bank and CTG to offer international card services
The Lao Development Bank (LDB) signed an international card services agreement with the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade - Vietinbank (HoSE: CTG) on Friday in Vientiane.
 |
| Lao Development Bank Deputy Managing Director Mr Vilaymith Ackhavong (left) and Mr Vo Minh Tuan sign the agreement on Friday |
According to a press release issued at the signing ceremony, the cooperation project means LDB's ATMs and credit card swipe machines will be able to provide Visa and MasterCard services.
“We expect the two banks will officially start the cooperative services by early next year,” an LDB official said.
Both local and foreign customers will be able to access the 24-hour services at locations nationwide, the press release stated.
The agreement followed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the two banks in May this year in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The project is an important step in LDB's efforts to modernise its services, after it recently launched a mobile banking service and established a securities company to facilitate investment in the stock market.
CTG is a major commercial bank with total assets of almost US$20 billion. It has more than 150 branches and over 1,000 service units throughout Vietnam. It recently opened a branch in Germany and will establish another soon.
CTG Deputy General Director Mr Vo Minh Tuan said “We hope to open a branch in Laos by the end of this year.”
Laos and Vietnam have been stepping up cooperation in the banking sector in recent years. Last week the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development signed an MOU on extended banking business cooperation with Phongsavanh Bank in Vientiane.
The objective of the agreement is to provide banking services to promote trade payments, investments and financial transactions in the Dan Savanh-Lao Bao shared border area between Laos and Vietnam.
This cooperation will see the arrival of additional services such as ATMs and credit card facilities for customers in both Laos and Vietnam, to facilitate Vietnamese companies engaged in investment projects or running businesses in Laos and provide money transfers for Lao students and people living in Vietnam.
LDB officially opened in April 2003 in Chanthabouly district, Vientiane. It has branches, service units and currency exchange units nationwide.
It also has more than 10 correspondent banks in countries including Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Germany, the United States and Switzerland.
It is a state-owned commercial bank with capital supplied by the Ministry of Finance. It was created as a result of a merger between two previous state-owned commercial banks - the Lao May Bank and Lane Xang Bank.
vientiane times
|
