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BNI encourages economic improvement among Indonesian diaspora in US
Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) is a proactive force in the economic strengthening of the Indonesian diaspora in the United States as the country’s economy improves rapidly.
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BNI overseas branches in the US will help Indonesian diaspora to import and market their goods in the country. (Courtesy of BNI)
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ank Negara Indonesia (BNI) is a proactive force in the economic strengthening of the Indonesian diaspora in the United States as the country’s economy improves rapidly. BNI is seen as very flexible in providing its services and being able to respond to customer needs more quickly.
Indonesian Ambassador to the US, Rosan Roeslani, explained that trade between Indonesia and the US was currently seeing a significant rise. It yielded a 36 percent increase reaching US$37 billion with a surplus of $14.1 billion last year. In terms of investment from the country, there was a 76 percent increase in investment to $2.5 billion last year.
The ambassador added that there were more than 200,000 members of the Indonesian diaspora spread across all states in the US. Of course, their needs for banking products are very diverse, and BNI understands that they require innovative programs and products.
"We see this development as a potential for great economic development going forward. We can also see that the trend continues to be positive and profitable for many business players in terms of trade and investment in Indonesia," he said.
Rosan acknowledged that the growth in trading performance was partly the result of comprehensive support from BNI. Moreover, BNI’s New York branch is able to reach the Indonesian diaspora in the US by forming an economic ecosystem.
BNI is even able to provide holistic guidance and attention to Indonesians in the US to help them develop a more sustainable diaspora business. “Our view is that BNI delivers maximum service. BNI provides mass banking services together with fulfilling other needs such as education for the diaspora,” he said.
Jemmy Pranyoto of Golden Nest Corporation said BNI's support was very flexible in supporting its business development. Jemmy, who started an importing business 10 years ago, has begun producing food on a large scale in the US.
"We appreciate BNI because its services aren’t just limited to providing financing, but also making regular visits and mentoring. So, it’s a full package," he added.
Optimizing unbanked diaspora with businesses in the US
General manager at BNI New York, Aidil Azhar, said that many of the Indonesian diaspora found it difficult to obtain banking services in the US because they fall within the “unbanked” category. However, the branch observes that these people have very good business potential, which has driven BNI to take a proactive approach to disbursing financing for both working capital and investment.
“We are of course always ready to help the Indonesian diaspora in the US. We see a lot of diaspora who are still inexperienced [in this area] and fall into the category of ‘not yet bankable’ but have very good potential," he said. “Furthermore, we also help with opening bank accounts with rupiah as the currency without having them come all the way to Indonesia, to facilitate business players in the US who have close business ties in Indonesia.”
