Vietnam SeABank to sell 100% stake of finance unit to Japan's Aeon arm

Private lender SeABank has signed an agreement to transfer its entire stake at Post and Telecommunication Finance Company Limited (PTF) to AEON Financial Service Co., Ltd., the financial arm of Japanese retailer Aeon Group.

In an announcement on Friday, SeABank, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as SSB, said the deal's value is VND4.3 trillion ($175.4 million). The transfer is expected to improve SeABank’s financial capacity and help the lender invest more in technology to promote its retail banking business.

The deal is pending approval from the State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank, to be completed.

Established in 1998, PTF was one of the first non-bank credit institutions in Vietnam. In 2018, Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), a giant in the telecommunication sector, wholly offloaded PTF to SeABank. After the move, PTF has developed itself into one of the leading consumer finance companies in the country, aided by digital technology. Currently, PTF has nearly 2,000 staff and serves about 200,000 customers across the country.

Aeon Financial was established in 1981 as a comprehensive financial services provider within the Aeon Group. Its founding mission was to enhance the convenience of shopping for consumers and the firm has expanded beyond Japan, starting with Hong Kong in 1987.

Established in 1994, SeABank is one of the leading joint stock commercial banks in Vietnam with more than 2.5 million customers, more than 5,400 employees and 181 transaction offices nationwide.

Aeon Group has invested $1.18 billion in Vietnam, the largest amount by the group in an overseas market. It now has six malls in Vietnam and plans to open a seventh one in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue next year.