business

Myanmar grants operating licences to 4 more Asian banks

March 05, 2016

Myanmar is home to 24 private local banks and four state-owned banks. – File pic, March 5, 2016.Myanmar has granted operating licences to four Asian banks, bringing to 13 the number of foreign banks allowed to conduct business in the previously isolated country.

Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, State Bank of India, Taiwan's Sun Commercial Bank and South Korea's Shinhan Bank were granted preliminary licenses, Myanmar's Foreign Bank Licensing Committee said in a statement on Friday.

The approval gives the banks 12 months to demonstrate they can fulfil business plans laid out in their application to Myanmar's government before they will be granted permanent licenses, the statement said.

The decision is just the second time Myanmar has granted licenses for foreign banks to open since a semi-civilian government took over in 2011.

An earlier round in late 2014 saw licenses granted to nine foreign banks, also all from Asian countries. Myanmar is home to 24 private local banks and four state-owned banks.

Myanmar has pursued far-reaching reforms since the end a half-century of harsh military rule in 2011 in the hope of reversing isolation that saw the country become one of Asia's poorest. – Reuters, March 5, 2016.