South Korea’s Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) will officially launch its wholly foreign-owned bank in Vietnam on September 25, expanding competition in the country’s banking sector.

IBK Vietnam will have charter capital of VNĐ7.3 trillion ($279mn) and will become the 10th wholly foreign-owned bank operating in the country, according to Viet Nam News (VNS). 

The State Bank of Vietnam granted the bank its establishment and operating licence on March 24, 2026. Its headquarters are located at Keangnam Landmark 72 in Hanoi, with Park Kyung Il serving as legal representative and general director.

IBK Vietnam said it will provide banking and financial services permitted under Vietnamese law, focusing on customers and supporting businesses.

The bank’s South Korean parent was established in 1961 and is 68.5% owned by the South Korean Government. IBK first entered Vietnam in 2008 by opening a branch in Ho Chi Minh City, followed by a Hanoi branch in 2013. It applied to establish a wholly foreign-owned bank in 2017.

In July, Vietnam’s banking regulator also approved debt purchases as an additional activity under IBK Vietnam’s licence.

The launch will bring the number of wholly foreign-owned banks in Vietnam to 10. The group includes three South Korean banks such as IBK, Shinhan and Woori, alongside UOB from Singapore, HSBC and Standard Chartered from the UK, three Malaysian banks including Public Bank, CIMB and Hong Leong, and Australia’s ANZ.

IBK has previously outlined plans to play a greater role in Vietnam’s economic development. At a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Hồ Đức Phớc last September, then-chairman and CEO Kim Sung Tae said the bank wanted to support small and medium-sized enterprises, infrastructure development and financial investment.

Vietnamese regulations require foreign banks to meet stringent financial and governance conditions, including at least five consecutive years of profitability and total assets of no less than $10bn.