Taiwan Cooperative Bank opens office in Yangon

02 January 2016
Taiwan Cooperative Bank opens office in Yangon
Taiwan Cooperative Bank Nantou branch. Photo: Shxpeng/Wikipedia

Taiwan Cooperative Bank entered the Myanmar financial scene on Thursday, as part of its expansion into the ASEAN market.
The bank said the ASEAN market is likely to become the fourth largest economy in the world by 2030, up from its current position of seventh place.
The bank, in a press release, said Myanmar is one of the pivotal points of China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative, a development strategy that focuses on expanding China's influence throughout Eurasia.
Myanmar boasts abundant labor resources and vast tracts of land, which have been drawing more and more Taiwanese investors to relocate their funds into the country, the bank said.
The bank said that the Yangon office will serve as a venue to collect data on market conditions and will provide assistance to Taiwanese firms operating in the country.
The bank said it also has experience at the grassroots level with small and medium sized businesses. Currently, Taiwan Cooperative Bank runs 15 overseas outlets with five in the ASEAN market, two in the United States, one in Belgium, one in Australia, five in China and one in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said Thursday that it has issued the green light to Taiwan Cooperative Bank to open a branch in Changsha in China's Hunan Province.
The bank at present operates four branches in Suzhou, Tianjin, and Fuzhou, and one representative office in Beijing.
The FSC said that, so far, no Taiwanese bank has set up a foothold in Hunan and the presence of Taiwan Cooperative Bank is expected to provide necessary services to Taiwanese firms operating in the province.
The bank has four other locations in Asean countries: three in Cambodia, and one in Manila.