Ambassador of Republic of Korea Cho Tae Young said Korea and Bangladesh are in the best position to leverage their relationship, as both the countries share the same history of sufferings under colonial regime as well as fight against poverty. He was speaking as the chief guest of the inauguration ceremony of Woori Bank's new office at Suvastu Imam Square at Gulshan-1 in the city Thursday.

"Woori Bank is the largest government-owned bank in South Korea. In Korean language 'woori' means 'we', and I believe with the same history of fight against colonialism and poverty, Woori Bank will be 'our bank' in Bangladesh", the ambassador said.

President of Korea-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KBCCI) Engineer Kamaluddin said, "The need of a new office for Woori Bank denotes increased clients' trust with the bank."

Kim Kyung Wan, executive vice president of the bank, urged the employees to give their full effort to satisfy the customers.

Woori Bank, the flagship company of Woori Financial Group, was incorporated in 1899 in Republic of Korea. The bank now has two branches in Bangladesh with its footprint in off-shore and corporate banking.

A high official of the bank told the FE that the bank is planning to step into more expanded banking activities. "We started our operation in Bangladesh in 1996 with off-shore banking, and are now planning to start operation in retail, agriculture and small and medium entrepreneurship (SME) sectors aside from corporate banking," the official said.

News: The Financial Express/Bangladesh/11 Feb 2011