HDBank, one of the biggest joint stock banks in Vietnam, signed anagreement for strategic cooperation with the Republic of Korea (RoK)'sHanaBank on May 8.

Under the agreement, the two banks willco-ordinate to assist clients and provide them with information andconsultancy about the business and investment environment in Vietnam andthe country's laws on foreign investment in finance and bankingsectors.

They will share information about the industrial sectorin the RoK and Vietnam, introduce potential industrial clients to eachother, and co-operate for human resources training and other exchanges.

Theco-operation between HDBank and HanaBank is expected to createfavourable conditions for their development in areas like funds swap,financing each other's lending activities, syndicated loans and otherbanking services like remittances, international payments, tradefunding, foreign currency transactions, card services, and issue ofco-branded credit cards.

The agreement follows closely on theheels of the Vietnam – RoK Free Trade Agreement signed on May 5,contributing to strengthening the relationship between companies andcredit organisations from the two countries and helping promote economicties between the two countries.

With assets of nearly 100trillion VND (4.6 billion USD), charter capital of 8.1 trillion VND(375.52 million USD) and more than 220 branches around the country,HDBank is one of the biggest joint stock banks in Vietnam.

Hana Bank belongs to the Hana Financial Group, one of the three leadingbanks in the RoK and a leader in the retail banking business.-VNA