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| Hana Financial Group's Co-Vice Chairman and Hana Securities CEO Lee Eun-hyung, third from right, stands next to key officials from Hana Securities and Vietnam's BIDV Securities Company (BSC) at Melia Hanoi Hotel in Vietnam, Wednesday. Courtesy of Hana Securities |
By Anna J. Park
Hana Securities has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with BIDV Securities Company (BSC), a Vietnamese brokerage firm, aiming to consolidate its foothold for further expansion in the Southeast Asian country.
According to Hana Securities, the company chief, Lee Eun-hyung, who's also Hana Financial Group's co-vice chairman, signed the cooperative MOU with the Vietnamese firm at Melia Hanoi Hotel in Vietnam's capital city, Wednesday.
Under the bilateral strategic partnership, Hana Securities plans to share the firm's know-how in operating its top-notch research centers with BSC. The Korean securities company also aims to facilitate the development of innovative digital brokerage platforms for the Vietnamese market.
Founded in November 1999, the Hanoi-headquartered BSC was the 11th-largest brokerage firm in Vietnam as of last year, with an annual net profit of 18.8 billion won ($143 million) and its rate on equity (ROE) standing at 22.2 percent.
In March this year, Hana Securities acquired a 35 percent stake in BSC, which is a subsidiary of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), Vietnam's largest state-run bank. While BIDV holds 79.94 percent of BSC's shares, KEB Hana Bank is the second-largest shareholder of the state-run Vietnamese lender, as it acquired a 15 percent stake in BIDV for around 1 trillion won in late 2019.
"Hana Securities' business capabilities and unique features will maximize synergy effects through the partnership. We will do our best to help BSC grow into one of the top three brokerage firms in Vietnam," said Lee Jong-seung, head of global business at Hana Securities.
Lee also highlighted that Hana Securities will continue strengthening its global operations and strategic investments in overseas markets.
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