Korean Hana ties up with Saudi EXIM Bank for Middle East biz

Hana Financial Group, South Korea’s third-largest financial holding company, joined hands with the Saudi Export-Import Bank to expand its market presence in the Middle East with an aim to assist Korean companies in the region.

Hana on Monday signed a deal with the Saudi EXIM Bank, which enhances the development and diversification of the kingdom’s exports, to extend the business in the Middle East, the South Korean financial group said. Hana has become South Korea’s first financial company to reach such an agreement with the government-affiliated institution in Saudi Arabia.

Hana and Saudi EXIM Bank plan to jointly discover global projects in the Middle East while providing professional financial solutions to companies of the two countries to increase cooperation.

SAUDI VISION 2030, NEOM

Prior to inking the deal, the South Korean financial group discussed major business issues and cooperation strategies on Saudi Vision 2030, the kingdom’s project to reduce its dependence on oil, diversify its economy and develop public service sectors such as health and education with its National Development Fund (NDF).

The NDF was mandated to advance the performance of development funds and banks as well as to empower development funds and banks to better fulfill development priorities and economic obligations related to the strategic framework to be achieved by 2030.

Hana plans to help South Korean companies aiming to do business in the estimated $500 billion Neom megacity project, the centerpiece of Vision 2030, to facilitate better access to financial institutions in the Middle East by expanding trade finance services.

“We will do our utmost to support Korean companies to create their second and third booms in the Middle East,” said Hana Financial Group Vice Chairman Lee Eun-Hyung.

Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait were the main source of foreign income for South Korea between the 1970s and early 1980s. During the period, construction companies won a raft of large-scale orders to build bridges and high-rise buildings, as well as a man-made river in Libya.

Hana is operating two branches in the Middle East – one in Abu Dhabi and the other in Bahrain – as well as an office in Dubai. Korea Exchange Bank, acquired by Hana Financial Group in 2015, was the first Korean lender in the country, making inroads into the region in 1977.

Write to So-Hyun Lee at y2eonlee@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.