Bangkok Bank in pursuit of growth and opportunities beyond national borders
Growing alongside its customers and the nation, Bangkok Bank has been an integral part of Thailand's economy for almost 70 years. Thailand's biggest bank is increasingly making its mark beyond its national borders, taking advantage of the burgeoning opportunities offered by accelerating regional integration, with a major focus on the mainland and Hong Kong.
Growing alongside its customers and the nation, Bangkok Bank has been an integral part of Thailand's economy for almost 70 years. Thailand's biggest bank is increasingly making its mark beyond its national borders, taking advantage of the burgeoning opportunities offered by accelerating regional integration, with a major focus on the mainland and Hong Kong.
"These are exciting times for Bangkok Bank and its customers," says president Chartsiri Sophonpanich. "Asia is driving global growth and Thailand is well-positioned to benefit."
Bangkok Bank's regional track record is strong. For example, it was quick to spot the opportunities in China, opening a representative branch in Beijing in 1986, when the country was just starting to open up to the outside world. Its prescience should not be surprising, as it had long been among the top banks in the world for overseas Chinese. It entered Hong Kong as early as 1954, where it opened its first international branch.
Bangkok Bank's China connections run deep - its first customers were astute Chinese traders, who built business empires that extended throughout Southeast Asia and back towards China. The bank went with them and within a few decades, had built up one of the most impressive branch networks in Southeast Asia, connecting with its branches in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland.
Today, the bank has 25 branches in 12 economies - the mainland, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Britain, the United States and Vietnam - plus a representative office in Myanmar that has been in place for 18 years. The network is augmented by approximately 2,000 correspondent banking relationships around the globe.
Such an extensive reach provides the bank with a major competitive advantage as Thailand seems destined to become a hub of the Asean Economic Community (AEC), which will be formed at the end of 2015. Thanks to its high levels of economic growth, competitive labour force and great market potential, the country has become a magnet for overseas investors, including those from China.
