Hong Leong Bank opened its head office in Vietnam an its first branch in HCM City on Oct. 8, with an initial capital of 1 trillion VND (55 million USD).

With the opening of its bank, Hong Leong group becomes the first Malaysian or Southeast Asian bank to be granted a license to operate as a full-scale commercial bank in the country.

Le Dinh Long, general director of Hong Leong Bank Vietnam , said: “We want our customers to grow with us, to keep trusting us with their hard-earned money. Over time, we will add more sophisticated products and services that will help you grow your money event further.”

Long also revealed plans for staff training in preparations for further expanding of the bank’s reach in Hanoi and other localities across the country.

As a bank with many branches, subsidiaries in region and after-tax profit in the first quarter of 2009 valued at 242 million RMs (about 72 million USD), a year-on-year increase of 29 percent. Hong Leong Bank has proved their experience in efficient management and operations as one of the largest banks in the region.

In the last two years, the group has invested some 70 million USD in the first phase of a GuocoLand Vietnam’s project to develop The Canary, an integrated development located in the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park in Binh Duong province./.