VNPT may form a bank

Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications group (VNPT), the country's largest telecoms firm, will look into converting a subsidiary now offering a savings service into a bank, a government official said.

VNPT needed to assess the value of its Post Savings Service Company so it could contribute funds to form a bank, Deputy Chief Administrator of the Government Office Pham Viet Muon said in a document seen on Tuesday.

Seven state-run banks, including two policy banks, and 34 partly private banks now operate in Vietnam. Apart from domestic banks, branches of 35 foreign banks and six joint venture banks also compete in the Southeast Asian country.

Several Vietnamese firms, including Sacom (SAM) and FPT, have already sought central bank permission to open new commercial banks.

Source: Reuters