HANOI (Reuters) - Citibank NA, a unit of Citigroup Inc , said it would soon get the go-ahead from Vietnam's central bank to set up a bank in the country, which would make it the seventh wholly foreign-owned lender to operate there.
The U.S. lender said the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) governor would grant it a letter of acceptance, in principle, in Washington on Wednesday, witnessed by Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong, who is on a landmark visit to the United States.
By setting up a fully-owned bank in Vietnam, the company could help strengthen Vietnam's banking sector and support local and foreign clients, Citi Vietnam's Country Officer Natasha Ansell said in a statement. Citibank currently has two branches in the Southeast Asian nation.
Fully foreign-owned banks in Vietnam currently include HSBC Holdings
In March, the SBV also allowed Malaysia's Public Bank Bhd
(Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Martin Petty and Pravin Char)
