The deal will help the foreign credit card issuer expand itsbusiness in Vietnam, where consumer lending is booming on high domestic consumption,the company said.

The deal is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2020and the post-merger company will start operating in the second half of 2020.

"The entry into the Vietnamese market has a significantmeaning in that it will mark Hyundai Card's first direct entry into a foreignmarket," Hyundai Card said in a statement.

“Vietnam is one of the world's fastest growing markets. Itsmarket for individual loans is currently growing at an annual average of 60percent, with the number of credit card holders surged 27 percent on-year to7.4 million last year.”

The Korean firm also plans to explore other markets inSoutheast Asia.

FCCOM is a member company of the Maritime Joint StockCommercial Bank (MSB).

Hyundai Card’s officers will be responsible for the financewhile MSB staff will take care of sales and operations in the post-mergerbusiness.

In addition to consumer lending, FCCOM will also cover othersectors such as credit card issuance, automobile financing and corporate financing,which is expected to support the operation of two automobile firms Hyundai andKia Motors in Vietnam.

The deal was reported by Yonhap News Agency on October 29.

Before Hyundai Card, some Korean finance firms had enteredVietnam. In 2017 Lotte Card bought out Techcom Finance and launched its unitLotte Finance in late June 2019. In early 2018, Shinhan Card acquired Prudential Vietnam for 150million USD. The merged business started operating in May 2019.

Aside Korean investors, Japanese firms have appeared on theVietnamese consumer lending market such as Credit Saison and Shinsei Bank, which have formed joint ventures with HDBank and Military Bank.

According to data provider FiinGroup, consumer lending roseby average 66.3 percent per year in the 2015-2017 period, more than three timesthe rate recorded in 2013-2014. In 2018, the rate was 30.4 percent.

In 2018, FE Credit had the biggest part of the market with amarket share of 47.3 percent, down from 2017’s figure of 48.9 percent.

The proportion of consumer lending in the economy’s totallending increased to 17 percent in 2017 and 19.7 percent in 2018 from 12.3percent in 2016. But the rate is still low compared to other developedeconomies where the rate is estimated at 40-50 percent./. VNA

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