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BNI branch in Tokyo moves to business district
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(Left to right) Head of the Bank Indonesia Representative Office in Tokyo, Hilman Tisnawan; president director of BNI, Royke Tumilaar; BNI president commissioner Agus Martowardojo; head of Economic Function Coordination for the Indonesian Embassy in Japan Rima Cempaka; and director of treasury and international business at BNI, Henry Panjaitan, take part in the inauguration of BNI Tokyo on Thursday. The relocation of BNI's overseas branch offices is part of an effort to strengthen overseas business performance and improve services to local customers, including the Indonesian diaspora.
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T Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, or BNI (stock code: BBNI), continues to develop overseas business networks by optimizing the role of its overseas branch offices. In Japan, BNI Tokyo is proactively looking for business opportunities by moving its office to a more strategic location in a business area.
The new BNI Tokyo office was officiated on Thursday, with a signing by BNI president director Royke Tumilaar. Also present was BNI president commissioner Agus Martowardjojo, along with members of the BNI board of directors and leaders from several corresponding banks, including SMBC, Mizuho, MUFG, Shoko Chukin Bank and other Japanese corporations such as APP Japan, GGFJ and Sampo Corp. Among them were also members of the Indonesian diaspora, as represented by Kopi Kalya Style and Dopang.
The inauguration opened with a traditional kagami biraki (mochi-breaking) ceremony as a sign of new beginnings and good luck. Royke said Japan had been Indonesia’s bilateral trade partner since 1958, with BNI’s first representative branch opening in Tokyo in 1959. Later, it upgraded to a branch office in 1968 so it could offer a variety of banking services and products.
“We continue to strengthen the performance of overseas businesses and improve our services to local customers, including the diaspora community. One of the steps we took was relocating the BNI Tokyo office to a more strategic location that was easily accessible and located in a business district, namely to Nurihiko Building South Tower, Tokyo,” he added.
Royke added that BNI Tokyo served as a bridge between Indonesia and Japan, as reflected in its role as a liaison, especially for Japanese medium and small businesses investing in Indonesia.
The new BNI Tokyo office is equipped with a bigger space and more extensive facilities, such as a meeting room to facilitate meetings between companies from the two countries. BNI Tokyo also provides business matching opportunities to promote products by Indonesian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“To reduce logistics costs and improve the competitiveness of MSME products, we’ve also collaborated with the Indonesian Embassy by setting up a distribution center. This distribution center uses a dropship strategy that is considered effective for MSMEs," he said.
Data shows that Japan has great business potential for Indonesia, with trade volumes reaching US$32.49 billion in 2021. The flow of foreign direct investment into Indonesia is considerably high, considering that there are currently over 56 thousand Indonesian diaspora in Japan. Indonesian-related companies in Japan are also on the map as potential target markets.
In the first quarter of 2022, BNI Tokyo's assets were recorded at $946 million with 96.91 percent of its businesses related to Indonesia. BNI has already provided XPORA services to synergize Indonesian BNI MSMEs with potential overseas markets.
BNI Tokyo is actively involved in the SME Center in Japan, a collaboration between State-Owned Enterprises in Japan and the Indonesian Embassy to support SMEs within the Indonesia Go Global program.
“BNI Tokyo also facilitates Indonesian Diaspora entrepreneurs who need support in financing to increase business capacity. We hope that BNI Tokyo can be a catalyst for the development of diaspora-owned businesses, becoming a business bridge between Indonesia and the East Asia region while contributing to national economic growth,” Royke concluded.
