Japanese bank to open branch in Myanmar in 2015
Xinhua, February 16, 2015 Adjust font size:
Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) is planning to open a branch in Myanmar this year, official media reported on Monday.
The bank will provide deposit and lending services for Japanese and other companies operating in Myanmar, the report said.
Nine foreign banks, including the SMBC, were awarded licenses to operate in the country in October last year, the first time in more than five decades.
The nine foreign banks also include two others from Japan, two from Singapore and one each from China, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia-New Zealand.
These banks are allowed to operate wholesale banking and lend money to foreign investment companies and local banks. They are also allowed to lend money to local companies through local banks or to lend syndicated loans to local companies in cooperation with local banks.
For the past decades, Myanmar only allowed foreign banks to open representative offices in the country for observation without giving them permission to operate banking services. Endi