Commercial Bank to start rep office in Myanmar in 1Q 2014
View(s):The Commercial Bank is awaiting final approval to open a representative office in Myanmar while making some progress in venturing into Nepal and Indonesia, in a bid to expand into new markets, officials said.
“We applied for a ‘rep’ office in Myanmar six months ago and the final approval process is on. We will have to run this office for two years before we can start a fully fledged branch in Myanmar,” Dinesh Weerakkody, Chairman Commercial Bank told the Business Times.
He said the target is to start the office in Myanmar in the first quarter of next year. He said that the bank officials visited Nepal some months ago in order to evaluate a suitable stake in a Nepalese bank. He also said that Indonesia is in their radar for the future.
Commercial Bank, which already has its presence in Bangladesh with 17 delivery points and nine branches, is also eyeing other suitable markets.
Some years ago the bank decided to venture into India, following the success of its Bangladesh business, but abandoned this process when they realised that the costs were high and approvals were tough.
Sampath and National Development Bank are amongst other local banks to enter Bangladesh.