Banco de Oro gains foothold in Singapore

MANILA, Philippines—The country’s largest bank Banco de Oro Unibank has gained a foothold in Singapore with the opening of a representative office in Southeast Asia’s financial hub.

BDO announced on Monday that the opening of the representative office in Singapore was “in a bid to further boost its relations with companies doing business in one of Asia’s most booming economies.”

The BDO representative office, situated at the newly constructed One Raffles Place, was seen to promote the banking arm of tycoon Henry Sy in Singapore’s financial community, “acting as a point of contact for Singaporean companies interested in the Philippine market, and conversely, Philippine companies looking to penetrate Singapore.”

“Thus, the opening of the Singapore representative office is expected to enhance relationships further and find ways to better serve and work alongside Singaporean firms, thereby living up to BDO’s service-oriented culture,” the bank said.

A representative office is usually the route taken by a financial institution seeking to market products in an offshore jurisdiction.  But unlike a full branch, the activities of a representative office are limited and cannot be income-generating.