South Korea’s Kookmin Bank said Friday it would form an alliance with Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to increase cooperation on corporate banking.

The tie-up, to be signed on Monday, comes as the leading banks in the two countries seek to expand their business abroad amid stalled growth at home.

The alliance is to “boost operational synergy via co-marketing, information sharing and mutual support in both domestic and overseas financial markets,” Kookmin said in a statement.

Kookmin did not give details but a spokesman said the deal would not include buying each other’s shares. Analysts said the two banks might introduce corporate clients to each other and develop cash management services.

Kookmin is seeking to expand in south-east Asia such as Vietnam and India through acquisitions or other measures. It is also eyeing its domestic rival Korea Exchange Bank, which has the biggest overseas operations among Korean banks.

Last year, Kookmin and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China signed a strategic partnership that allows them to service corporate clients in each other’s home country. The Korean lender also has a similar partnership with Dutch lender ABN Amro.

The latest Kookmin deal highlights a trend among leading Asian banks of forging cross-border alliances to strengthen their international business. Last year, Shinhan Financial Group, South Korea’s second-largest lender, formed a tie-up with Japan’s Mizuho Corporate Bank, a unit of Mizuho Financial Group, to cooperate in trade finance, syndicated loans, project financing and mergers and acquisitions. Mizuho said in February it has raised its stake in Shinhan from 0.49 per cent to 1.25 per cent.

Separately, Kookmin is planning to sell part of its 20 per cent stake in ING Life Insurance Korea to the Dutch company this year. Kookmin has to lower its holding to below 15 per cent by the end of this year to meet financial regulations after it bought half of a small local life insurer in 2004.

Kookmin shares closed down 0.47 per cent at Won84,200 on Friday, slightly underperforming the broader market.