Japan’s MUFG is a case study in how one Tokyo lender has once again become a major player in emerging Asia
Japanese banks have become more outwardly focused in recent years, recapturing some of the market share they held in emerging Asia in the 1990s
MUFG, the largest bank in Japan, has been rapidly growing through acquisition in emerging Asia, overtaking several foreign lenders in terms of market share, and recapturing much of the gravitas enjoyed by Tokyo bankers in the region in the late 1990s.
“Total assets combined with our four partner banks in Asean are around 17 trillion Japanese yen or US$160 billion. We have exceeded global peers such as Citibank, HSBC and Standard Chartered,” said Muneaki Tokunari, the chief financial officer and director of MUFG.
In anticipation of strong growth in emerging economies in Asia, MUFG has been actively enhancing its services by acquiring stakes in Vietnam’s VietinBank, Thailand’s Bank of Ayudhya and Security Bank Corp of the Philippines.
In December, the bank announced the purchase of a majority stake in PT Bank Danamon Indonesia from Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings. MUFG completed the acquisition of a 19.9 per cent for 15.875 trillion rupiah (US$1.17 billion) and plans to raise its stake to 40 per cent during the third quarter.
“We define internal Asia as our second home market. We expect a lot of growth potential from these countries,” Tokunari said in an interview with the South China Morning Post.
MUFG was inaugurated in 2005, following the merger of the Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group and UFJ Holdings. MUFG, with over 150,000 employees, has a global network with over 1,800 locations in 50 countries spanning the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Oceania and East Asia.