ANZ targets tenfold surge in opulent clients in Vietnam

The lender to tap more than 10,000 high-end professionals, or entrepreneurs who have built up their business in Vietnam.

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., which aims to get 30 percent of its revenue from the Asia-Pacific area by 2017, plans to increase its number of wealthy clients in Vietnam to 10,000 from 1,000 in three years.

The Melbourne-based Bank plans in the next two to three months to double the number of staff catering to individuals with a minimum investment threshold of $50,000, Tareq Muhmood, the bank’s chief executive officer for the southeast Asian country, said in an interview in Hanoi Monday. ANZ’s service for high-net-worth individuals in the country has attracted 1,000 customers since its launch twelve months ago, he said.

“You’re looking at high-end professionals, or entrepreneurs who have built up their business, and you clearly have more than 10,000 in Vietnam,” he said, according to a report in Business Week.

The bank also plans to offer structured notes, or securities created to offer customized bets for investors, to wealthy clients, Muhmood said.