The one of the South Korea’s top four banks, KB Kookmin Bank interested in expanding its business in Myanmar by providing more financial products and services especially in small and medium enterprises (SMEs)

KB Kookmin Bank, one of South Korea’s top four banks, is interested in expanding its presence in Myanmar with more financial products and services, especially in the areas of providing financing for housing and small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs).

KB Kookmin’s chief representative in Yangon, Kim Chang-woo, said the bank “is considering expanding its business in Myanmar by providing local financial products and services”.

He told The Myanmar Times that the expansion included collaborations with Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry for products and services tailored to SMEs, support for state-owned enterprises, digital remittance services for Myanmar workers in South Korea and collaborations with Construction, Housing and Infrastructure Development (CHID) Bank.

Kim was commenting on the bank’s chief executive officer Hur Yin’s meeting on July 4 with Myanmar’s Minister of Construction U Han Zawin Seoul, where there were discussions on collaboration in provision of financing for housing.

Hur Yin said the bank will actively support Myanmar’s housing financing policy. KB Kookmin, which applied for a banking license in 2014 but failed to obtain one, has had a presence in Myanmar through KB Finance since March 2017. The subsidiary provides microfinancing.

Hur Yin said the bank will need to acquire the license and strengthen cooperation with Myanmar especially in housing and infrastructure financing. Projects the bank has been active in include the Korea – Myanmar Industrial Complex and Dala township development, both in Yangon Region.

The bank, which has a representative office in Myanmar since 2013, has conducted housing finance workshops with the Ministry of Construction, Central Bank of Myanmar and CHID Bank over the past five years.

(The Myanmar Times: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/kb-kookmin-bank-interested-expanding-myanmar-business.html )

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