HANOI: The Vietnamese government said on Friday that it has authorised Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) to convert a debt-laden joint venture business in the country into a wholly owned operation.
In a report on its news website, chinhphu.vn, the government said if SCB wanted, it could take over the joint venture, VSB, along with its property and debts as well as establish a fully owned business in Vietnam.
In 1995, SCB, Charoen Pokphand Group and Vietnam’s state-owned Agribank created VSB, which runs a handful of outlets in Vietnam.
Officials at SCB in Bangkok could not be immediately reached for comment.
The authorisation comes as Vietnam seeks to reform its crowded banking sector, plagued by bad debts after years of risky lending and non-core investments by state-owned enterprises that surged when the property market froze.
The State Bank of Vietnam, which will issue guidance on any SCB deal, has already agreed to eight banking consolidation deals so far this year.
