(20 November 2006 – Vietnam) BNP Paribas is set to buy a 10 percent stake in Vietnam’s ninth largest private bank, Orient Commercial Bank (OCB), for an undisclosed sum.The French bank said Vietnam was a market that offered strong growth prospects.
‘With an economy expanding at a rate of seven percent, a population of 80 million, and a low level of penetration for the financial services industry, the Vietnamese financial services market is especially promising, and has become even more attractive since Vietnam joined the WTO (World Trade Organisation) at the beginning of the month,’ BNP Paribas said.
BNP Paribas hopes to increase the stake to 20 percent once the regulatory framework allows foreign banks to take larger stakes.
ANZ and Standard Chartered also have stakes in Vietnamese banks.