Bangkok Bank, Thailand’s third-largest lender by assets, has acquired an 89.12% stake in Indonesia’s PT Bank Permata for about $2.7 billion after receiving approval from the Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK.) in its first major overseas acquisition for Thai bank, Reuters reported.
Standard Chartered and Indonesian conglomerate PT Astra International jointly controlled Permata, with each owning 44.56% within the bank, which has about 330 branches in 62 cities in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Asia-based lender StanChart said in a separate statement that it could receive about $1.3 billion from the sale of its stake in Permata, which it said was a vital a part of the bank’s “capital optimization” plans.
“We welcome Bangkok Bank as the new majority shareholder of PermataBank,” Permata Bank president director Ridha DM Wirakusumah said in a press release obtained by Jakarta Globe on Wednesday, referring to the Jakarta-based lender by its trade name.
The acquisition marks a milestone for the Bangkok-headquartered bank, which has been operating in Indonesia since 1968 and has three branches in Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya.
“We believe that Bangkok Bank will provide us with the best support so that we can become a stronger player in the Indonesian banking landscape,” Ridha said.
He said Permata Bank will proceed to expand its retail, wholesale and Shariah businesses and develop its distribution network and digital banking.
“[Bank] Permata will give Bangkok Bank a stronger presence in two of Southeast Asia’s largest economies, strengthening our position as a number one ASEAN bank,” Bangkok Bank CEO Chartsiri Sophonpanich said in a press release. Jakarta Post Office.
He added that the bank will support Bank Permata in growing its retail, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and company businesses, while increasing its customers’ access to growth opportunities in Indonesia.
