Woori Bank made an announcement on Feb. 16 that it has merged its Cambodian subsidiary WB Finance and Woori Finance Cambodia into WB Finance after a year of preparation and approval from Cambodia's financial authorities.
Woori Bank plans to speed up its efforts to tap into the Cambodian financial market through the merger.
Woori Bank entered Cambodia in July 2014, starting with the acquisition of Woori Finance Cambodia. Five years after the acquisition, Woori Finance Cambodia`s total lending and net profit increased 12 times and 14 times, respectively, and the total amount is the largest among 70 local competitors.
To expand its retail business base, Woori Bank acquired WB Finance, a savings bank that is capable of operating deposit and lending business in June 2018. Total assets of WB Finance, which has 116 sales networks across Cambodia, grew nearly 60 percent in a year of acquisition.
Buoyed by the growth of Woori Finance Cambodia and WB Finance, Woori Bank's local net profit in Cambodia rose to $17 million in 2019 from $4 million in 2017.
With the merger, Woori plans to expand its local retail operations in Cambodia by partnering with fintech and platform companies to enhance customers' financial convenience and accessibility, and by establishing a local credit rating system to provide non-face-only products.
“The combined assets and profits of the merged entity amount to the fifth among the Cambodian savings banks,” a Woori official said, adding that the bank aims to provide comprehensive financial services in Cambodia by converting WB Finance into a commercial bank in the mid- to long-term.
