Hua Nan Bank, one of the oldest banks in Taiwan has officially opened its first branch in the Philippines after getting the nod of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinos (Philippine's Central Bank).
The Philippines earlier signed a law that will allow foreign banks to operate in the country as long as they are able to comply with the requirements sets by the government.
The opening of the 98-year old Taiwan bank is the fourth Taiwanese bank to establish operations in the Philippines and it is the ninth bank in the country that is owned by foreign stockholders.
Hua Nan Bank Chairman Wu Tang Chieh said that the management of the bank sees the Philippines as an important destination for its operations because of the growing bilateral trade relationship between Taiwan and the Philippines as Hua Nan Bank targets to be one of the leading regional banks in Asia.
"The Philippines has always been on the top of Hua Nan's agenda as an important gateway to Asian countries," Chieh was quoted by a Philippine National broadsheet.
The Taiwan bank executive also said he is looking forward to providing employment opportunities to Philippine nationals and sharing knowledge and experiences with local banks.
"The opening of Hu Nan Bank will be beneficial to both Taiwanese and Filipinos as it targets to help small and medium-sized enterprises., " Chieh added.
The BSP earlier said that entry of foreign banks in the Philippines will promote financing opportunities for infrastructure projects that will provide employment and promote quality competition in the industry.
Hua Nan Bank possesses USD 89 billion worth of assets in 2016 and operates 186 branches in Taiwan with 200 banking partners worldwide.
While foreign banks have signified to open their services in the Philippines, the number of Philippine banks are also expanding overseas such as Metrobank, Philippine National Bank and BDO.
