OCBC opens Myanmar branch, sees growth in SME and mid-cap segment

OCBC expects to double its revenue from its regional business of its SME (small and medium enterprise) and mid-cap clients within three years, as it opened its first branch in Myanmar on Thursday, a senior executive said.

The projected growth would follow a near doubling of its regional-business revenue from these commercial clients from 2012 to 2014.

"Myanmar is quite a significant part of our regional business," said head of OCBC's global commercial banking Linus Goh this week. "We look at it as a re-entry into the market. We've had a long history there, and you don't often get this opportunity."

OCBC opened its first branch in Yangon - also known as Rangoon - in 1923, and later established a second branch in Lashio with the opening of the Burma Road in 1939.

It left in the early 1960s, but returned in 1994, setting up a representative office in Yangon. In April, it received final approval to commence operations in Myanmar.

Its branch in Myanmar will offer services such as cash management, trade finance, and working capital financing to foreign companies and joint ventures in the country. It will also be able to open accounts denominated in the Myanmarese currency kyat, the US dollar and the Singapore dollar.