OCBC Buys 10 per cent of VPBank Shares

On September 27, 2006, the Governor of the State Bank signed a decision to allow VPBank to sell 10 per cent of its shares of OCBC (Singapore). According to VPBank Director General Le Dac Son, although OCBC is now allowed to buy VPBank shares, since April, 2006, in implementation of strategic cooperation between the two banks, OCBC has sent experts to study and evaluate Vietnamese market, especially loans to small and medium enterprises and consumption demand of the population. From October 2006, OCBC will assist VPBank for the staff training in Vietnam and upgrading in Singapore.

 

When the government permits strategic foreign shareholders buying 20 per cent of shares in commercial banks, OCBC will increase its shares in VPBank from 10 per cent to 20 per cent in this year. Consequently, OCBC will be the biggest shareholder of Vietnamese commercial banks. Currently, OCBC has 314 branches in 15 countries and is the oldest bank of Singapore with nearly 100 years of experiences.