Korean NH Nonghyup Bank commences its India operations, opens its first branch in Noida

NOIDA: South Korean NH Nonghyup Bank has commenced its commercial operations in India with the opening of the country’s first branch in Noida recently. With this, total the number of overseas branches of Nonghyup Bank comes to 11 in eight countries. It opened its branches in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Sydney last year. With this, Nonghyup Bank is operating a total of 11 overseas branches in eight countries. Previously it also set up Hong Kong and London offices.

A grand opening ceremony took place at the Jaypee Greens Resorts in Greater Noida on July 13 in the presence of Siddharth Nath Singh, Member of Parliament and former MSME Minister of Uttar Pradesh, CHANG Jae-Bok, Ambassador of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in India, PARK Euy-don, Chairman of the United Korean Association in India,  KIM Yong-Gi, Vice President of NH Nonghyup Financial Group, U S Awasthi,  MD &CEO, Indian Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO) CEO, Sohn Myung-sik, CEO, KIA Motors, and HONG Sung-chang, MD, NH Nonghyup Bank, India.

In March last year, the bank obtained in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for establishing its first branch in India – in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

According to the bank officials, the new branch was opened to prepare a foothold for entering the Southwest Asian market and to promote business expansion centred on corporate finance services.

KIM Yong-Gi, Vice President of NH Nonghyup Financial Group, said, “India is a market with unlimited development potential with a population of 1.3 billion people and infrastructure.

NongHyup Bank is the 6th Korean bank in India to enter as others include Shinhan Bank, KEB Hana, KB Kookmin, Woori, and Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK). Shinhan Bank was the first South Korean bank to enter India in 1996.

Last year Jun-hak Kwon, CEO & President, Nonghyup Bank, Seoul, had said, “India is an important hub in Southwest Asia with a high potential for development with a consumer market of about 1.3 billion. Through thorough business preparations, we will strive to acquire a license within this year, coexist with the local financial market, and establish ourselves as a financial institution that fulfills its social responsibilities.”

Nonghyup Bank entered India in 2016 when it opened a liaison office in Gurgaon to strengthen the competitiveness of the agriculture sector and contribute to the economic development of farmers in India, a country with a long historical relationship.

HONG Sung-chang, Managing Director of Nonghyup Bank, India said that after successfully establishing its Noida branch, the bank would expand its operations and next set up three more branches in India.

Since its foundation in 1961 in Korea, NH Nonghyup Bank has been striving to strengthen the competitiveness of agriculture, improve the quality of life for farmers, and balance the national economy.

Nonghyup Bank has been selected as the No.1 social contribution bank in Korea for several years since 2011 and has provided free management consulting for agri-food companies and farmers, public finance fund support, and public benefits fund financial services to support rural communities and the underprivileged. It has been faithfully playing a role in social finance.

In the year 2021, NH Capital, a subsidiary of NongHyup Financial, acquired about 25 percent of the shares of IFFCO-Kisan Finance ― an affiliated company of IFFCO ― becoming the second-largest shareholder of the agricultural equipment-specialized finance company.

Following this, NongHyup Financial Group Chairman Kim Gwang-soo and IFFCO Chairman US Awasthi signed a share subscription agreement at IFFCO’s headquarters in New Delhi. This was the first time a Korean financial firm moved into the Indian market through a JV with a local financial company. With the deal, NH Capital expects to get access to the cooperative’s membership of some 36,000 entities