Bangkok--17 Aug--SCB
Trade is the life line of any economy. As part of its efforts to support Trade with and Investments in Myanmar, Siam Commercial Bank held a ceremony to celebrate the successful business cooperation and financial support worth more than 100 million USD with seven Myanmar banks in Yangon, Myanmar. The seven banks are Aya Bank, CB Bank, KBZ, Myanmar Apex Bank, Yoma Bank, MFTB, and MICB. This collaboration marks SCB's commitment to serve its customers and their trading partners as well as local banks in Myanmar, reaffirming the growing and cordial relationship between the two nations.
Speaking about the cooperation, SCB Chairman of the Executive Committee Dr. Vichit Suraphongchai said that "The opening up of the economy and the coming launch of the AEC at the end of 2015 has put Myanmar in the spotlight as a country with strong growth potential. Thailand is amongst the top 5 investors in Myanmar and no 2 in terms of Trade. Thus, SCB as a leading Thai bank, considers it as its responsibility to provide facilities to Myanmar banks to support the growth of such relationship between the two nations.
SCB is very optimistic about the future growth potential of the CLMV countries and believes that Thailand has a key role to play given its geographical location with borders with most of these countries and its level of development and infrastructure. This is a win-win for Thailand and the CLMV countries. SCB has been engaged in business relationships in Myanmar since 2003, and in 2012 the Bank established a representative office in Yangon. Though SCB was not successful in getting a branch license in Myanmar in 2014 it remains hopeful about getting one in the future. Till then the Bank will continue to support Thai investors in Myanmar and also local Myanmar corporates and banks from its offices in Thailand and Singapore. This collaboration with the seven Myanmar banks is a step in the same direction and will allow these Myanmar banks to serve their corporate customers better.
This success is the result of the collaboration between the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Myanmar together with seven local banks, enabling SCB to promote growth in international trade between businesses in Myanmar and Thailand. It also enhances efficiency as well as risk management among sellers, buyers, and local banks. The Bank is also going to conduct training in international trade for local staff of the participating banks to prepare them for the upcoming AEC. To strengthen the relationship between Myanmar and Thailand, the Bank will continue to support as much as it possibly can, not only in term of services to customers in Myanmar, but also to local banks.