ANZ's push to ASIA continues insistently, with Australia's third-largest bank buying into one of Vietnam's biggest brokerage houses.
ANZ said it would pay $102 million for 10 per cent of investment bank Saigon Securities Incorporated (SSI).
It made the investment based on a long-standing relationship with SSI and net profit growth last year of nearly 1000 per cent — from about 25.4 billion dong ($A18.3 million) in 2005 to about 246.61 billion dong in 2006. SSI also reported a 465 billion dong profit for the first quarter of 2007.
ANZ may appoint a member to the SSI board as part of the arrangement.
Vietnam's economy has grown by about 7.5 per cent over the past five years and the Government forecasts growth will top 8.5 per cent by the end of the decade.
"Expanding in one of Asia's fastest-growing economies is a good strategy, and I'm convinced ANZ has the capacity to pull it off," said Deutsche Bank's head of investment research for private wealth management, Tom Murphy.
"We have been buying ANZ's shares partly because we are keen on their expansion plans."
ANZ shares rose 9¢ to $29.48 in trading yesterday.
Shaw Stockbroking analyst David McDonald said he was worried that ANZ might be making Asian investments "about two-thirds of the way through the economic cycle".
Mr McDonald said he feared the bank might get "a couple of good years" out of the investment before things became more difficult.
The purchase is one of many investments in Asian growth markets that will pit incoming ANZ chief executive Michael Smith against his former employer, HSBC.
Mr Smith will replace sitting boss John McFarlane on October 1 after 29 years with HSBC, four of them as head of Asian operations.
HSBC said last week it had received the approval of the Vietnamese Government to increase its stake in Vietnam Technological & Commercial Joint-Stock Bank from 10 per cent to 15 per cent for $33.7 million. HSBC will seek permission to boost its stake in the bank, known as Techcombank, to 20 per cent.
ANZ also owns 24.9 per cent of AMMB Holdings, Malaysia's fifth-biggest bank. In China, ANZ agreed in November to buy 19.9 per cent of Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank and also owns 20 per cent of Tianjin City Commercial Bank.
It owns 29 per cent of PT Panin Bank in Indonesia and 40 per cent of a credit-card venture with Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co in the Philippines. Last year, ANZ started a bank in Cambodia through a venture with Royal Group.
