Shinhan Financial Group chairman discusses investment, financial cooperation with Uzbekistan trade minister

Shinhan Financial Group said Thursday it met with the Uzbek government to discuss ways to enter the local financial market and expand investment cooperation.

The group held talks Wednesday with Uzbekistan Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Laziz Kudratov and his delegation at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, to explore ways to broaden bilateral investment and financial cooperation.

The meeting came at Uzbekistan's initiative, as the delegation was visiting South Korea to strengthen trade and investment ties. The two sides discussed a wide range of cooperation measures, including financial support to help South Korean companies enter and invest in Uzbekistan, collaboration on developing the local financial market, and plans to establish a Shinhan Bank subsidiary in the country.

Shinhan Bank has been pursuing the subsidiary on the strength of local business experience accumulated since it opened a representative office in Tashkent in 2009. If established, the Uzbekistan entity would become Shinhan Bank's 11th overseas subsidiary. The group also plans to expand its footprint in the local financial market in stages by entering alongside Shinhan Card, which has retail finance experience — including auto loans — across Central Asia.

Shinhan Financial has maintained ongoing engagement on Central Asian financial cooperation. In April last year, Chairman Jin Ok-dong personally visited financial authorities in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to discuss the direction of financial industry development. Later that year, the group met with Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev during his visit to South Korea.

"Uzbekistan is a key market in Central Asia with strong growth potential and dynamism," Jin said. "Shinhan Financial will contribute to the development of financial infrastructure and the expansion of economic cooperation between the two countries as a long-term partner that grows alongside the local financial market."