The representative office, which opens next month, will focus on wholesale banking activities and concentrate on providing support to the bank’s global network of clients across its footprint of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, said the firm in a statement yesterday.

“Standard Chartered has had a history of over 150 years in Yangon and we are delighted at the quick response of the Central Bank of Myanmar in approving our application. We look forward to supporting our global network of clients in their efforts to tap into emerging opportunities in Myanmar, which in turn will help spur further economic growth for the country,” Jaspal Bindra, Standard Chartered Bank’s group executive director and CEO, Asia, said.

Standard Chartered ’s history in Myanmar extends back to 1862 when the bank opened its first branch in Rangoon. That operation was nationalised in 1963. It also operated a representative office in Myanmar from 1995-2004. Its return to the market follows growing international support for Myanmar’s efforts to reintegrate with the international community.

Standard Chartered says it has the broadest range of wholesale banking and consumer banking products and services in South East Asia. Through its network of 1,700 offices in 70 markets, the bank said it will assist  international clients to tap opportunities in the country.

It follows in the footsteps over other international institutions, such as ANZ bank, which was authorised to open a representative office in Myanmar in early December last year. ANZ said it is the first Australian bank to receive a licence from the Central Bank of Myanmar to operate and the first bank of an OECD members state, outside of Japan, to receive permission to establish a presence in the country, after the lifting of international sanctions earlier this year.

While Myanmar itself does not currently have a developed wealth management industry, it has vast untapped natural resources, including arable land, minerals, energy and freshwater, that could lead to an upsurge in future wealth, if exploited.

Myanmar, with a population of 60 million, is the largest country in South-east Asia by landmass, bordering five nations, and is strategically located between China and India. Myanmar’s gross domestic product, currently $43 billion, grew 5.3 per cent in 2010, derived primarily from government investment and foreign investment into the oil and gas and agribusiness sectors.