United Overseas Bank seeks to open sixth branch in Vietnam

Singapore’s United Overseas Bank (UOB) is eyeing to open another branch in Ho Chi Minh City, said UOB CEO and deputy chairman Wee Ee Chong.

The executive made the statement at a Monday meeting with Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, during the latter’s ongoing official visit to Singapore.

UOB now runs five branches in Vietnam, including two in Hanoi and three in HCMC.

The expansion aims to serve foreign businesses operating or seeking to operate in Vietnam as HCMC is a designated financial center of the country in the future, the executive added.

Wee Ee Chong urged Vietnamese authorities, including the National Assembly as the country's top legislative body, to help UOB with the task.

Vietnam is a prioritized market of UOB for long-term cooperation, he added.

For his part, Man highlighted Singapore is the second-biggest foreign direct investment (FDI) investor in Vietnam, with registed capital totalling $81 billion so far. The figure is only behind South Korea with $87.4 billion.

He emphasized Vietnam will prioritize and facilitate sectors of green finance, high technology, renewable energy and green energy, which are Singapore’s strengths.

In October, researchers with Singapore-headquartered UOB revised up their projection for Vietnam’s 2024 GDP growth to 6.4% from 5.9% after a "surprisingly strong" Q3 performance.

UOB’s upward revision marked a turnaround as the bank in September cut its 2024 growth forecast for Vietnam by 0.1 percentage point to 5.9%, taking into account the damage caused by typhoon Yagi which made landfall in Vietnam on September 7, leaving over 300 dead and devastating the northern region.

UOB recorded a core operating profit of SGD11 million ($8.2 million) in Vietnam in 2023, down 36% year-on-year, according to a bank report. The figure is a fraction of UOB’s total figure of SGD8,154 million ($6.07 billion) for its global performance last year.