Maybank, South East Asia’s fourth-largest bank by assets, marked another milestone this week when it became the first and only Malaysian bank to open a branch in Myanmar.

The opening of the branch follows the granting of the final license to commence operations from the Central Bank of Myanmar to Maybank last week. The Central Bank had on 1 October 2014 awarded a banking licence to Maybank as part of its move to liberalise the banking sector in the country.

The Maybank Yangon branch has a registered capital of USD75 million and will operate with a team comprising of mainly Myanmar nationals. Located in the commercial district of Yangon, the new branch will strengthen the Group’s international footprint which comprises some 2,400 offices in 20 countries worldwide, including all 10 ASEAN nations.

The opening of the branch was officiated by the Myanmar Central Bank Governor, H.E. U Kyaw Kyaw Maung and Chief Minister of Yangon Division, H.E. U Myint Swe, together with the Malaysian Ambassador to Myanmar, H.E. Mohd Hanif Abd Rahman and Maybank Group Chief Strategy Officer, Michael Foong. Among others present at the event were the Myanmar Central Bank Deputy Governors, U Set Aung and U Soe Min, Minister of Finance, Yangon Region, H.E. U Daw San San Nwe, Maybank CEO Indochina, Soon Su Long and Maybank Managing Director, Transaction Banking, John Wong.

Maybank Yangon branch will serve wholesale and corporate clients as well as domestic banks in Myanmar with a range of services such as deposit accounts, working capital financing, cash management, treasury and capital market solutions. In particular, it will leverage on its expertise in financing of power, utilities, oil and gas as well as the telecommunications sectors, which are also priority growth areas to cater to Myanmar’s immediate needs.

Speaking at the event, Michael Foong, said, “Since 1994, Maybank has operated a representative office in Myanmar and supported Myanmar in infrastructure building by leveraging upon our regional presence and project financing strength. We also helped arrange financing for key infrastructure projects such as airports, telecommunications and gas pipelines.”

In 2012, Maybank Malaysia established a Malaysia-Myanmar remittance service jointly with five Myanmar banks under its Maybank Money Express service which was aimed at facilitating the remittance of funds from Myanmar nationals in Malaysia to their families in Myanmar.