OctaFX, a retail FX broker, announced this Wednesday that they will be working with Vietnamese banks to improve services for local customers. The move means that OctaFX’s Vietnamese clients will be able to deposit and withdraw funds from Vietnamese banks.

The announcement comes in the wake of growing expansion in the South-East Asian market for OctaFX. In the past three years, the firm has enabled clients in Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, and India to make withdrawals and deposits from local banks. Indonesian clients have had access to the site through local banks since 2012.

Today’s announcement indicates that Vietnamese clients will now be able to deposit and withdraw funds from VietinBank, VietComBank, and SacomBank. The deal with VietinBank is especially significant given that it is owned by the government.

Vietnam - the next emerging market for FX brokers?

This is because Vietnam has traditionally been seen as hostile to FX brokers. As with China, the country is still technically communist but practically capitalist. Nonetheless, the country maintains a one-party political system and some business-crippling practices remain in place.

That could be set to change with Vietnam’s economy expanding rapidly as a result of deregulation and foreign investors starting to pump money into the country. As a result, OctaFX is not alone in finding the country an appealing prospect.

Earlier this month, Finance Magnates spoke to AvaTrade's CEO, Daire Ferguson, who noted that his business was very interested in expanding into the South-East Asian market. With increasing deregulation and a wealthier, tech-savvy population, Vietnam seems likely to have been on his radar.