SCB X, Thailand's fourth-largest bank by assets, will acquire consumer finance firm Home Credit Vietnam for 31 billion baht ($860 million), it said on Wednesday, the latest Thai lender to expand in Southeast Asia.

SCB X is buying the Vietnamese business from Czech investment group PPF, which is shifting away from markets in Asia where it had expanded its Home Credit business more than a decade ago.

Home Credit Vietnam will bring with it 15 million customers as the second largest consumer finance firm with about 14% market share, SCB X said.

"Home Credit Vietnam will serve as an important base for the SCB X Group's presence in Vietnam and immediately contribute positive bottom line to the group after deal completion," SCB X CEO Arthid Nanthawithaya said, adding it would also help to diversify the bank's income base.

SCB X said it would fund the acquisition using internal funds.

The Thai lender and PPF said in a joint statement that the transaction, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to concluded in the first half of 2025.

Thai banks in recent years have been seeking growth outside their home turfs, expanding in the region.

Rival Kasikornbank in 2022 invested $220 million to become the biggest shareholder in Indonesian lender Bank Maspion. In 2019, Bangkok Bank bought Indonesia's PT Bank Permata for about $2.7 billion.

PPF, meanwhile, has been retreating from Asian markets, citing limited potential. It sold its Home Credit units in Indonesia and the Philippines in 2023.

Consumer lending in Vietnam grew by 1.5% in the first nine months of 2023 versus end-2022, the lowest rise in five years as people tightened belts with a gloomy economic outlook.