Vietinbank, Vietnam’s largest lender, is planning to expand across Europe with branches in the Czech Republic, Poland and the UK. The state-run bank is reportedly actively scouting locations in Prague for its new headquarters. Its Czech branch will offer CZK 1bn in basic capital. The bank will target Vietnamese citizens active on the Czech business market.
Marcel Winter, head of the Czech-Vietnamese Association, says that the Czech Republic is a hub for Vietnamese in Europe, as they have been present in the country for the past 50 years. Figures published by the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade indicate that Czech export to Vietnam jumped 39 percent in 2013, while imports from Vietnam rose 20 percent y-o-y.
