Shinhan Card begins operations in Myanmar

[THE INVESTOR] Shinhan Card, the nation’s largest credit card issuer, on Sept.6 held the opening ceremony for its subsidiary in Myanmar, Shinhan MicroFinance.

The ceremony marked the beginning of operations for Shinhan card in the Southeast Asian country. It will soon by followed by Shinhan Bank, which is preparing for entry.

This marks the first time for a Korean bank and its affiliated card company to simultaneously penetrate the Myanmar market. Shinhan Bank’s main focus will be on corporate finance, while Shinhan Card will be working to sell small-sized credit loans to employees of the firms Shinhan Bank caters to.

As soon as Shinhan MicroFinance is able to build its reputation in the credit loan market, it plans to move onto other financial products, such as lease, aiming to become a sizeable retail finance firm in the country.

As of the first half of this year, Shinhan Card recorded net profit of 355.2 billion won (US$321.30 million), up 0.96 percent from the same period in 2015.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com">jemmie@heraldcorp.com)