Chugoku Bank to Set Up New Base in ASEAN Region

Okayama, Sept. 5 (Jiji Press)--Chugoku Bank <8382> will strengthen its operations in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region by setting up another representative office there, its President Masato Miyanaga has told Jiji Press. The regional bank in western Japan has only one office in the ASEAN region, in Singapore. But this "cannot cover (the region) sufficiently," Miyanaga said in a recent interview. Chugoku Bank is still considering where to open the new office. But the Okayama-based bank views Bangkok as a possible choice because many local companies have started businesses in Thailand. Miyanaga said the bank, which currently has four business footholds abroad, aims to open the fifth foreign base within three years, the period covered by its current medium-term business plan. Miyanaga also unveiled a plan to loan an official to a financial institution in Vietnam, an ASEAN member, by the end of March 2015. This will follow similar staff loan programs with Chinese, Thai and Indonesian institutions. The bank may join hands with other regional banks in Japan to expand their operations abroad together, Miyanaga said, adding that "there are limitations" to efforts to strengthen overseas business by one regional player alone. On domestic operations, Chugoku Bank will consider alliances with its peers in various regions, although it will not pursue business integration, at least for the time being, he said. END