Vietnam's Sacombank opens branch in Cambodia

Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint-Stock Bank, better known as Sacombank, opened its first branch in Phnom Penh earlier this week.  

Sacombank, Vietnam's sixth-largest lender by assets, says it will target Cambodian customers that do cross-border business between Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. It also hopes to expand its Cambodian network next year by adding additional branches in other provinces. This makes sense as Cambodia is a key trading country for Vietnam. The two-way trade value was $1.7 billion in 2008 and is estimated to reach $2 billion in 2009.

But while it's smart for a Vietnam bank to reach out to neighbouring countries, as the nation's domestic growth opportunities have stalled this year with...