South Korea’s state-run Industrial Bank of Korea said Thursday it has opened an office in New Delhi in a bid to help support smaller Korean firms operating there.

IBK said the move came as more Korean companies are expected to foray into the Indian market where sound economic growth is anticipated and the environment for foreign investors is improving.

The bank added that it plans to upgrade the office into a branch later to better cater to smaller Korean firms operating there.

The Indian office has raised the number of IBK’s overseas operations to 17. The bank last month opened an office in the city of Wuhan in China’s central region Hubei and it plans to add two more offices in China by the end of this year, seeking to open an operation in Beijing in 2013.

IBK mostly caters to small and medium enterprises in South Korea. (Yonhap News)