(11 July 2007 – Vietnam) ANZ has taken a 10 percent stake in Vietnamese investment banking and securities business Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI) for a fee of A$102 million.The move extends ANZ’s footprint in Vietnam where the bank has a stake in semi-privatised Sacombank and other retail and institutional businesses. ANZ was the first Australian bank to open a branch in Vietnam, in 1993.
ANZ senior managing director Dr Bob Edgar said ANZ and SSI had been cooperating for some time on corporate bond issues for large Vietnamese companies.
He said the bank would look to target Vietnam’s rapidly growing financial services market in partnership with SSI.
SSI was established in 2000 and is the country’s leading securities and investment banking company, listed on the Hanoi Stock Trading Centre.
As part of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, ANZ will nominate a board member and play a role in managing the company.
Vietnam’s GDP has grown more than 7.5 percent for the past five years. The industry and services sector accounts for more than 82 percent of the economy.