July 2 – Australian financial institution, ANZ Banking Group Ltd, has been granted a local bank license that allows it to compete equally with Vietnam banks and expand its branches.

The bank is among the first foreign banks to be allowed a full incorporation. The move is part of the country’s compliance as the newest member of the World Trade Organization.

Under the name, ANZ Vietnam, the bank plans to open four new branches by the year’s end while adding more in the coming years.

ANZ has been in the country since Vietnam in 1993 with branches in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city, and a representative office in Can Tho province.

It is now setting its sights on expanding its presence in Asia with a target of US$1.5 billion in net profits by 2012.

In additio, the company has a 10 percent share in Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint-Stock Bank and a 12 percent stake in Saigon Securities Inc.