According to a report by The Korea Herald, KDB's licence was granted on January 14, more than six years after it first submitted the application. It also marked the first such approval issued to a foreign bank since 2021.

“The approval was secured despite Vietnam’s conservative licensing stance, driven by a combination of South Korea’s diplomatic support – including two bilateral summits, prime ministerial talks, and high-level meetings involving financial regulators and the Foreign Ministry – and KDB’s sustained efforts," the bank said.

With the launch of its Hanoi branch, KDB said it will capitalise on its strengths as a policy lender to deliver corporate finance, investment banking and project finance services, while contributing to a stronger, more practical foundation for financial and industrial cooperation between South Korea and Vietnam.

The licence represents a decisive step that goes beyond the establishment of a branch, signalling the bank’s formal entry into Vietnam’s financial market as a long-term institutional partner.

Via its Hanoi branch, KDB aims to facilitate South Korean companies’ overseas expansion while contributing to Vietnam’s economic development as a responsible financial partner.