TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Foreign banks eye local banking industry
Foreign lenders are targeting the Indonesian banking sector, which is under-explored, particularly ahead of the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community, which also affects the financial industry, according to PT Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) chief economist Ryan Kiryanto
Change Size
F
oreign lenders are targeting the Indonesian banking sector, which is under-explored, particularly ahead of the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community, which also affects the financial industry, according to PT Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) chief economist Ryan Kiryanto.
'There is a lot of the public's money that has not been put into banks, as seen by the fact that several parts of the country do not have a banking service or have very limited access to one,' he said on Saturday.
He added that the ratio of third-party funds (DPK), at Rp 3,5 trillion (US$296 million), only amounted to 37.5 percent of GDP. As a comparison, Singapore has a 147.9 percent ratio, while Malaysia has 62.4 percent, Thailand 110.41 percent and the Philippines a 46.6 percent figure, Antara reported.
In terms of credit, Ryan added that the volume of bank credit distribution in Indonesia had only reached 20.6 percent of GDP, compared to 120.6 percent in Singapore and 117 percent in Malaysia.
According to his analysis, the financial sectors in regional mainstays Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have reached saturation point, thus the interest in the Indonesian financial sector.
'Banks in Indonesia should focus more on their domestic market first before expanding overseas. They should not penetrate other markets until they have strengthened their own,' he said.
