Korea's Kookmin expands in China, eyes Indonesia, Myanmar

New revenue sources in overseas markets.

South Korea's biggest lender by assets, KB Kookmin Bank, is in search for this to overcome financial crisis. 

It has set its sights on global markets to create new profits and has launched Chinese operations through a Beijing branch.

KB Kookmin Bank, in cooperation with the KB Financial group, opened Kookmin Bank China.

Early this year it opened an Osaka branch and launched a Mumbai office. 

The bank's global strategy is to focus on emerging markets. It also considers risk management on the top of its lists to avoid possible losses.

“We are considering the markets of Indonesia and Myanmar, which have huge growth potential thanks to their large populationd, abundant natural resources and changes in regulations,” said the bank.

Experts say Indonesia is one of the fast-growing economies in Southeast Asia, posting more than 5 percent economic growth over the last few years. Myanmar is also drawing attention from global investors, as its government has eliminated regulations in its financial markets, in a gesture to open its market to foreign investors.

KB Kookmin’s Cambodian unit successfully localized operations as more than three-quarters of the operation’s customers are native Cambodians. Other Korean banks have been focusing on Korean clients in the country.

The bank plans to open additional branches in Cambodia from next year.

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