Thailand targets Australian banking investments

Thailand's commerce minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong urged Australian banks to buy stakes in, or enter local partnerships with, established banks in the country.

The Thai Government has conceded it has been tardy in opening the market to foreign players, but will now urge the central bank to licence more overseas-based lenders before the end of the 2012 calendar year. A

Australian banks are trying to obtain full banking licences in Thailand.

Mike Smith, CEO of ANZ Banking, has held talks with Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in pursuing a strategy of expansion in Asia.

ANZ is seeking support for an accelerated assessment of its own application for a banking licence in Thailand.