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iversified conglomerate MNC Investama is planning to disburse up to Rp 1 trillion (US$73.04 million) next year to expand its business organically and inorganically, including the acquisition of a bank and the expansion of its media empire, a senior official has said.

MNC Investama vice president director Darma Putra said that the group was looking to see its business to grow by 15 to 20 percent next year.

'€œIn the current global economic situation, it might be difficult to achieve the target if we only rely on conventional expansion. By acquiring a company, it will be easier to boost our assets,'€ Darma told reporters on Tuesday.

Darma said the company would focus on developing its media business organically, especially its digital media, citing the shift into online news outlets as an imminent need for expansion.

MNC Investama '€” which is controlled by tycoon Hary Tanoesoedibjo '€” has a number of subsidiaries, namely media giant Global Mediacom, finance firm MNC Kapital Indonesia, energy firm MNC Energi and transportation company Global Transport Services.

As for its inorganic expansion, Darma said that his company was eyeing the acquisition of a bank next year to be merged with its lending unit, Bank MNC.

MNC, according to Darma, is currently studying five banks as potential acquisition targets. Each of the banks has assets of less than Rp 10 trillion.

MNC Kapital, as previously reported, is in the process of discussing a plan to merge MNC Bank with private lender Bank Pundi, which is controlled by Recapital Securities '€” part of the Recapital Group founded by businessmen Rosan P. Roeslani, Sandiaga Uno and Elvin Ramli.

However, Darma said that as this acquisition had yet to come to pass the company was looking at other potential banks to merge with Bank MNC.

'€œThe acquisition of Bank Pundi is not final, that is why we are looking to acquire more banks. We are aiming for Bank MNC to become a BUKU III bank in the next three to five years,'€ he said.

According to its third quarter financial report, Bank MNC had Rp 1 trillion in core capital by the end of September. MNC is currently a BUKU II lender, a category for lenders with core capital amounts ranging between Rp 1 trillion and Rp 5 trillion.

BUKU III category, meanwhile, is a category for lenders with a core capital ranging from Rp 5 trillion (US$360 million) to Rp 30 trillion. BUKU III lenders are allowed a broader banking services coverage than BUKU II lenders.

The bank officially changed its name to Bank MNC Internasional in October last year as a part of the MNC Group'€™s expansion into the banking industry.

The change of the name came after the acquisition of the bank '€” previously Bank ICB Bumiputera '€” by MNC Kapital.

As of September this year, MNC Kapital controlled 39.88 percent of the bank'€™s stock, while the remaining shares were owned by RBC Singapore '€” Clients A/C (12.7 percent), Citibank Singapore S/A BK Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. (5.38 percent) and the public (42.04 percent).

Besides banking and media expansion, Darma said that MNC'€™s other expansion next year would also involve growing its property unit, MNC Land, which has recently signed agreements with US tycoon and presidential hopeful Donald Trump'€™s property business to develop five-star resorts in Bogor, West Java, and Bali.