The Philippines’ BDO Unibank and Aozora Bank of Japan are partnering up to advise companies from their respective nations on mergers and acquisitions.
The collaboration was cemented on Monday with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two lenders, who were represented by BDO Chief Executive Nestor Tan and Shinsuke Baba, his counterpart at Aozora.
Baba said the Philippines, a nation of 100 million people and one of Asia’s fastest growing economies, will soon eclipse Japan’s 127 million population. “Recognizing this development, many Japanese companies have expanded in the Philippines,” he said prior to the signing ceremony at BDO’s headquarters in Makati central business district, part of Metro Manila.
Fast Retailing, the company behind clothing brand Uniqlo, entered the Philippines in 2012 through a joint venture with SM Investments, BDO’s parent firm. Japanese convenience stores FamilyMart and Lawson have also branched out here in recent years, partnering with Ayala Land and Puregold Price Club, respectively.
Prior to the partnership with Aozora, BDO had signed MoUs with eight Japanese regional banks to provide an array of financial services to their clients in the Philippines. “(But) this is the first time that we are venturing seriously into something more than just commercial banking,” Tan said. “We are focusing on M&A.”
Just last week, BDO opened a remittance center in Tokyo and in January, it officially launched its securities brokerage venture with Japanese financial services giant Nomura group.
Shares in BDO went up 0.49% on Monday, outperforming Manila’s benchmark index, which rose 0.10%.
Source and image: Nikkei
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