On 22 February 2008, the ceremony celebrating the strategic alliance between Orient Commercial Joint-Stock Bank (OCB) and BNP Paribas was held at Ho Chi Minh City.
This official ceremony concludes BNP Paribas’s formal acquisition of an initial 10% equity stake in OCB dated 31 December 2007, thereby bringing to an end the process of negotiations and administrative procedures that BNP Paribas undertook to have the licenses required under local regulations.
The ceremony was also an opportunity for BNP Paribas to establish the detailed strategic agreements. This transaction makes BNP Paribas OCB’s second largest shareholder after Sunimex, a Vietnam-based services company. After signing the strategic agreements with OCB, BNP Paribas’s stake will be increased to 20% in accordance with recent legislation.
BNP Paribas and OCB will now be working closely together on joint projects related to business lines and support functions. This strategic partnership will enable OCB to consolidate its development by enriching its product offering, modernising its support activities and enhancing the training of its employees, while the agreement with OCB will propel BNP Paribas’ presence in Vietnam to a new level.
OCB was created in April 1996 and is now present throughout Vietnam via a network of 59 branches and sales outlets. The bank started out in Ho Chi Minh City, where its head office is situated; this largely explains its strong presence in the south, the most dynamic part of the country. It then expanded to the centre and north of the country, concentrating primarily on the main urban areas. OCB is enjoying a period of rapid growth, illustrated by a 60% increase in its net earnings in 2007 compared to 2006.
It has ambitious objectives for 2008 with the planned opening of 26 branches. This meteoric rise sets OCB in the top third of private Vietnamese banks with total assets under management of VND 11,754 billion, loans of VND 7,514 billion and deposits of VND 5,771 billion.