ANZ puts more into Vietnam

It will raise ANZ's equity in the Vietnamese business to nearly $130 million to help it write new loans and protect against loans that may turn sour.

Commercial banks, especially foreign ones, operating in Vietnam continue to raise their registered capital despite the global financial crisis and economic slowdown," the State Bank of Vietnam, that nation's central bank, said in a statement. "It means that Vietnam is a safe destination for foreign investors.

ANZ had obtained the license to open a wholly-owned bank in Vietnam last October.

Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia are where the ANZ chief executive, Mike Smith, believes it can develop top-tier domestic banks and match its presence as a big four player in Australia.

ANZ has branches in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and has a nationwide ATM network. Vietnam has more than 30 banks, and ANZ ranks as one of the top four offshore banks there. It also competes with four state-run banks, including the country's top lender, Agribank.

Earlier this year ANZ outlined plans to open six new transaction offices across the country.

ANZ also has a 10 per cent stake in Vietnamese bank Sacombank and has exposure to securities house Saigon Securities.

ANZ has promised to push ahead with acquisitions on its path to building a pan-Asian bank, even as it is in the process of bedding down last month's $685 million move on some of Royal Bank of Scotland's Asian banking assets. It says it has the capacity for as many as three other deals the size of the RBS one, which will expand its presence in six countries. ANZ is targeting a doubling of earnings from its Asian operations to 20 per cent over the next few years.