Below is a list with tagged columns and company profiles.

Today's Headlines Banking

  • Indonesia Investments' Newsletter of 13 September 2015 Released

    On 13 September 2015, Indonesia Investments released the latest edition of its newsletter. This free newsletter, which is sent to our subscribers once per week, contains the most important news stories from Indonesia that have been reported on our website in the last seven days. Most of the topics involve economic subjects such as the government’s new economic policy package, the country’s financial stability, GDP growth, coal mining, crude palm oil, and more.

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  • Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) Opens First Office in Singapore

    One of the leading banks in Indonesia, Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), opened its first branch in Singapore on Wednesday (29/07), located in the heart of the Lion City at OUE Bayfront, 50 Collyer Quay (near Marina Bay). Today, the new office of BRI was inaugurated by Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Sofyan Djalil, and the opening ceremony was witnessed by Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Rini Soemarno, and Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) Muliaman D. Hadad.

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  • Islamic Banking in Indonesia: ‘I Love Sharia Finance Program’

    Indonesian President Joko Widodo stated during the launch of the “I Love Sharia Finance Program” that Indonesia should become the global center for Islamic finance (also known as sharia banking). The program, initiated by the country’s Financial Services Authority (OJK), was launched in Jakarta on Sunday (14/06). Islamic finance is a form of banking or banking activity that is consistent with the principles of sharia (Islamic law). In recent years, the global market for sharia-compliant financial instruments has risen robustly.

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  • Rabobank Group Injects Capital into Rabobank Indonesia

    The Rabobank Group, a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Utrecht, has injected USD $35 million worth of capital into its Indonesian subsidiary Rabobank Indonesia. Martyn Schouten, President Director at Rabobank Indonesia, said that the capital injection is carried out to support Rabobank Indonesia’s business expansion in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. He added that the Indonesian unit will play an increasingly important role in international business of the Rabobank Group.

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  • Growth Forecasts 2015: Bank Central Asia (BCA) to Acquire Small Banks

    While other leading Indonesian banks are eager to expand business by opening branches in neighbouring countries, Bank Central Asia (BCA) stays focused on the domestic market. BCA, Indonesia’s largest private bank, is eyeing to acquire several smaller banks in Indonesia as part of its (inorganic) business growth model this year. BCA seeks smaller banks that have good financial performance, match with BCA’s business and are not too expensive (with a price to book value of between one and two times).

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  • Banking Industry Indonesia: Bank Mandiri Can Open Branches in Malaysia

    State-controlled Bank Mandiri, the leading bank in Indonesia in terms of asset size, will be allowed to open 20 branches in Malaysia after financial authorities in Indonesia and Malaysia signed an agreement. Although Muliaman D Hadad, Chief Commissioner at Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK), said that the government of Malaysia still needs to ratify the agreement, it is expected that Bank Mandiri will be able to open its Malaysian branches before the end of the year.

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  • Fitch Ratings: Systemic Risks in Indonesian Banking System Declined

    Global credit rating agency Fitch Ratings expects slowing credit growth in Indonesia to reduce systemic risks in the country’s banking sector. In a report entitled Macro-Prudential Risk Monitor, which was released on 3 March 2015, it was mentioned that the macro-prudential risk indicator (MPI) for Indonesia was lowered from '3' (high risk) to '2' (moderate risk). Primary reason for this risk cut was the slowdown in the country's real credit expansion to below 5 percent in 2014 (from a peak of almost 20 percent in 2011).

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  • Banking Sector of Indonesia to Become Less Open to Foreign Investment

    Commission XI of Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR), which oversees the country’s banking sector, will soon propose a new draft of a bill that sets to limit foreign ownership in Indonesian banks at 40 percent (from 99 percent currently). Established banks that are majority-owned by foreigners will be given a 10-year period to divest their shares after the bill has been passed into law (reportedly an earlier draft only provided a five-year transition period for this mandatory divestment).

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  • IPO of Bank Yudha Bhakti on the Indonesia Stock Exchange

    Bank Yudha Bhakti, an Indonesian commercial bank, is preparing an initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). The company will offer 300 million shares, or 11.9 percent of its enlarged equity, to the public and plans to raise IDR 34.5 billion (USD $2.8 million) as it offers the shares at IDR 115 per piece. The offering starts between 5 and 7 January 2015, while listing at the IDX is planned for 13 January 2015. Underwriters for the IPO are Semesta Indovest and Equator Securities.

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  • OJK Sets New Rules in Indonesia’s Islamic Financial Services Industry

    In a bid to enhance monitoring on Indonesia’s financial services sector, to deepen financial markets, and to widen people’s access to financial services, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) has introduced 20 new rules ranging from corporate governance to microfinance. The institution also revised Islamic banking rules involving asset quality and capital adequacy in an effort to increase the role of Islamic banking (sharia banking) in Indonesia’s financial system. Authorities target that Islamic banks hold more than 15 percent of the market by 2023.

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Latest Columns Banking

  • Minimum Threshold for Indonesia's "Bank Openness Law" Revised

    The government of Indonesia listened to the criticism that emerged after it decided to set a rather low threshold for bank accounts that are to become subject to the automatic bank information exchange program. Through Finance Ministry regulation PMK No. 70/PMK.03/2017 Indonesia's tax authorities obtain access to information on accounts held at financial institutions, including bank accounts. This new regulation makes it possible to check whether tax payers indeed fulfill their tax obligations.

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  • Which Bank Accounts Are Checked by Indonesia's Tax Authorities?

    There exists some resistance against the Indonesian government's recently announced regulation that gives tax authorities access to information on accounts held at financial institutions, including bank accounts. The regulation aims to contribute to a more transparent financial system as well as to boost the government's tax revenue realization (tax evaders will need to be more careful now authorities can monitor private and corporate bank accounts).

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  • Indonesia's Salim Group Wants to Build a "New Bank Central Asia"

    The Salim Group, one of Indonesia's biggest conglomerates (owning leading companies in various sectors of the Indonesian economy), has high ambitions in the nation's banking sector after having acquired a majority stake in Bank Ina Perdana in early March 2017. For the first time in 19 years the conglomerate, founded by Sudono Salim in 1972, is back in Indonesia's banking industry.

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  • Indonesia's Tax Authorities Can Monitor Taxpayers' Bank Accounts

    Indonesia's Tax Office now has more power to check whether people and companies indeed pay taxes. Last week the Indonesian government basically scrapped the existence of banking data secrecy by introducing a new regulation that gives the nation's tax authorities access to information on accounts held at financial institutions, including bank accounts. The new regulation should contribute to a more transparent financial system and boost the government's (much-need) tax revenue realization. However, Indonesian parliament still needs to approve the new regulation.

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  • Indonesian Financial Institutions in Focus: Bank Tabungan Negara

    Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN), market leader in Indonesia's mortgage loans sector, is expected to maintain steadily growing earnings supported by House Ownership Credit growth (in Indonesian: Kredit Pemilikan Rumah, abbreviated KPR) and stable financing costs. In fact, RHB Securities and Bahana Securities believe credit growth of BTN will outperform average credit growth in Indonesia's banking sector in full-year 2017. Both securities firm set their credit growth target for BTN at 18 percent (y/y), boosted by subsidized KPR.

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  • Low National Savings: People of Indonesia Fail to Save Incomes

    Indonesia's gross national savings per gross domestic product (GDP) remained stagnant according to a statement from the nation's Financial Services Authority (OJK) earlier this week. This indicates that Indonesian residents do not manage to save money, but rather focus on consumption. Based on data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Indonesia's gross national savings per GDP stood at 30.87 percent in 2015. For comparison, figures of Singapore and China stood at 46.73 percent and 48.87 percent, respectively.

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  • Financial Institutions in Focus: Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI)

    The corporate earnings of Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) up to the third quarter of 2016 are in line with expectations. Net income of Indonesia's fourth-largest lender (by assets) rose 28.7 percent (y/y) to IDR 7.7 trillion (approx. USD $529 million) compared to net income in the same period one year earlier (IDR 5.99 trillion), supported by a 21 percent (y/y) increase in credit disbursement to IDR 372 trillion (approx. USD $28.6 billion) and the higher net interest income margin (6.2 percent).

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  • Snapshot of the Indonesian Economy: Risks, Challenges & Development

    Tomorrow (05/02), Statistics Indonesia is scheduled to release Indonesia's official full-year 2015 economic growth figure. Nearly all analysts expect to see a figure that reflects the continuation of slowing economic growth. Southeast Asia's largest economy expanded 5.0 percent in 2014 and this is expected to have eased further to 4.7 percent or 4.8 percent in 2015 on the back of (interrelated) sluggish global growth, low commodity prices, and weak export performance. Domestically, Indonesia has or had to cope with high interest rates and inflation (hence curtailing people's purchasing power and consumption as well as business expansion).

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  • Banking Sector Indonesia: OJK Needs More People to Combat Fraud

    Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK), the central government's agency that regulates and supervises Indonesia's financial services sector, needs to hire hundreds of new staff in order to safeguard monitoring of the nation's banking sector and to enhance its early warning system in order to detect possible corruption cases. As up to 350 OJK workers are expected to return to the central bank per 1 January 2017, good monitoring of the banking sector is in jeopardy.

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  • Indonesia's Conventional Banks to Spin Off Islamic Units by 2024

    Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK), the government agency that regulates and supervises the nation's financial services sector, is preparing a new regulation that requires conventional financial institutions in Indonesia to spin off their Islamic financial units before 17 October 2024. Islamic finance or Islamic banking is a type of banking that is in accordance to the principles of sharia (Islamic law). Based on the regulation, those financial institutions that generate at least 50 percent of their capital through Islamic finance have to comply with the new rule.

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