India's biggest lender State Bank of India is among the four banks to get approval from the Myanmar's central bank to commence business in the country. The other three banks are: Vietnam's Bank for Investment and Development, Taiwan's E.SUN Commercial bank and South Korea's Shinhan Bank, reported Press Trust of India.
"After due consideration, the Licensing Committee has decided to grant preliminary approval to prepare for commencement of banking operations in Myanmar to four Foreign Banks," the SBI was quoted as saying by the news agency.
The preliminary approval is valid for 12 months, according to the Central Bank of Myanmar and will be converted a full-fledged licence upon fulfilling statutory obligations.
"Upon fulfillment of the above-stated requirements the Central Bank of Myanmar will grant the final license (to the winners) to operate in Myanmar," the announcement said, PTI added.
SBI has the largest presence overseas among Indian banks, with 194 offices spread across 36 countries.
In April 2015, Mitsubishi UFJ of Japan became the first foreign bank to open a branch in Myanmar.
This is the second time Myanmar has allowed a foreign bank to set up a branch in its country. In October 2015, nine foreign banks had received approval to open branches in the Southeast Asian nation, PTI added.
In November, Aung Sang Suu Kyi won a majority in Myanmar's parliament. The National League for Democracy had promised to spur investment and promote economic growth, Reuters reports.
