South Korea's Woori Bank thinks it's found a way into the 10-nation, 500-million-population Association of Southeast Asian Nations market, which is due to become fully integrated next year. The Woori Bank has bought, for $4.9 million, Cambodia's microfinancing institution, Malis Finance. A Woori Bank official told the Korean Herald newspaper: “It's difficult to develop a stable business model in Cambodia due to its low levels of economic development, so we decided to first gain more expertise by trying our hand in the microfinancing business.” Woori plans to develop Malis Finance into a commercial bank within five years.
