Thailand's KBank in talks to buy Home Credit Vietnam for $1 billion

By 2027, the Bangkok-based lender, also known as KBank, aspires to be one of Vietnam's top 20 banks in terms of assets. The news outlet cited Refinitiv statistics as saying KBank has total assets of $119.7 billion, second only to Bangkok Bank in Thailand.

The news comes at a time when Vietnamese banks are under strain as a faltering economy and prolonged turbulence in the real estate industry have fueled an increase in bad loans and prompted a sweeping interest rate cut.

Refinitiv data shows that the sale of a $1.5 billion stake in Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank to Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui in March was the largest M&A deal in Vietnam's financial sector this year. If the deal goes through, it would add to the trend of consolidation in Asia's financial sector.

Two sources told Reuters that KBank has talked to financial experts about the possible purchase, but discussions are still going on and no final decision has been made.

In a stock market filing on Wednesday, KBank stated it was looking into a transaction with Home Credit. It said that it is always looking for different business prospects in Vietnam, which may or may not result in a transaction, and that it would provide information if such a deal occurs.

Home Credit Group did not reply to calls for comment from Reuters.

Vietnam, with a population of over 100 million people, has a rapidly rising working-age population, with KBank estimating that over 69% of individuals do not have a bank account, the most in Asia.

Home Credit Vietnam, a subsidiary of the non-bank financial company Home Credit Group with headquarters in the Netherlands, began operations there in 2008 and now, according to its website, employs 6,000 people to serve 12 million customers.

Source: Reuters