Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. said Friday it will ally with Myanmar's Co-operative Bank Ltd. to tap growing demand for financial services in the Southeast Asian nation as it shifts to democracy.
Lending unit Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. agreed Thursday on a preliminary alliance to provide technical support to the Myanmar lender in areas including trade finance and foreign exchange, Mitsubishi UFJ said in a statement.
The nation's biggest bank joins Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. in forming a tieup with Myanmar lenders to serve Japanese companies looking to enter the emerging economy as it opens up after five decades of military rule. Japan, Myanmar's biggest creditor, wrote off some $3.7 billion (¥320 billion) of Naypyitaw's debt in April and resumed financing ports, bridges and roads in the country.