(25 July 2007 – Vietnam) ANZ has said it plans to open up to 15 branches in Vietnam by 2008 subject to regulatory approval.The news comes a week after ANZ announced it had taken a 10 percent stake in Vietnamese investment banking and securities business Saigon Securities Incorporation for about A$100 million.
The Hanoi government passed a regulation this month allowing foreign banks to set up fully owned subsidiaries in Vietnam which so far ANZ, HSBC, and Standard Chartered have responded to.
ANZ also owns a 10 percent stake in Vietnamese private bank Sacombank, which it purchased in 2005 for A$30.6 million.
ANZ Bank has appointed Michael Smith, currently president and CEO of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, chairman of Hang Seng Bank and chairman of HSBC Bank Malaysia as its new chief executive officer.
Smith, who succeeds John McFarlane on 1 October 2007, is expected to further drive the bank’s Asia strategy.