BDO collaborates with Japan’s Aozora Bank

THE COUNTRY’S largest bank BDO Unibank has signed a business collaboration deal with Japanese commercial bank Aozora Bank Ltd., aiming to serve Japanese firms doing business or seeking to do business in the Philippines.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, BDO said the collaboration will cover merger and acquisition advisory as well as investment banking services.

A memorandum of understanding was signed by BDO and Aozora on Monday to flesh out this partnership.

BDO senior vice president and head of international desks Edward Wenceslao said the tie-up with Aozora could give BSO “broad coverage” in the major prefectures with the most number of Japanese investments in the Philippines. These are the prefectures of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Fukuoka.

Aozora, which has been operating since 1957, has 30 branches across Japan alongside five overseas officers.

“It occupies a unique position as neither a mega bank nor a regional financial institution and is active in the provision of deposits, loans and debentures, loan syndication, securitization, business and asset revitalization,” BDO said in its statement.

Aozora also provides advisory services to assist corporate, financial institution and retail clients.

For its part, BDO has entered into various partnerships with eight Japanese regional banks since 2013. The goal was to provide financial services assistance to clients which want to do business in the Philippines.

BDO maintains a full-staffed Japanese-speaking desk which is dedicated to market and service Japanese companies operating in the country as well as to fill their retail requirements./rga