THE Hanoi-based Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) is to open an office in Phnom Penh, having purchased a local commercial bank, the National Bank of Cambodia said Wednesday.

NBC Director General Tal Nay Im told the Post that BIDV had bought Prosperity Investment Bank.

"The NBC has already approved BIDV to open a representative office in Phnom Penh," Tal Nay Im said. "BIDV will open its office soon - perhaps at the end of this month."

Tal Nay Im said she was not aware of the value of the deal, but confirmed that negotiations are complete and BIDV will be recognised as the bank's new owner.

"After the purchase BIDV will invest US$50 million of capital [in Prosperity] for its business operations," she said. "It's very good for Cambodia's economy that large foreign banks are coming to invest ... they bring with them capital and modern banking technology."

Sun Virak, the operations manager of Prosperity Investment Bank, said the bank began operations in August 2007, adding that the sale is not yet official.

"The ownership transfer deal will be signed between the two banks on Sunday July 26," he said, declining to provide further details.

Hanoi-based officials at BIDV, which is the second-largest lender by assets in Vietnam, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

BIDV's presence in Cambodia comes one month after Vietnam's second-largest listed bank, Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint-Stock Bank (Sacombank), opened a branch in Phnom Penh.