Throughout January to May 2022, BNI successfully recorded an increase in volume of export transactions, with annual growth of 30.62 percent. The total credit of branches abroad is recorded at US$3.9 billion, an increase of 18 percent year-on-year (yoy).

BNI president commissioner Agus Dermawan Wintarto Martowardojo said that since its creation, BNI was designed as a bank in Indonesia with an international network and global capacity.

Seventy years ago, on July 5, 1946, in the midst of the struggle for independence, the government established Bank Negara Indonesia as a circulation or central bank belonging to the Republic of Indonesia.

Since 1955 BNI has operated as a commercial bank, solidifying its role as a bank with a global capacity by opening its first out-of-state branch in Singapore. In 1959, the bank opened an agency in Tokyo and 1963 saw the opening of another branch in Hong Kong.

"Happy 76th anniversary Bank Negara Indonesia. Today is a historical record that we should be proud of," said Agus.

BNI president director Royke Tumilaar said that BNI had traveled to various countries to assist its partners in growing their business to a higher level. He said the company would be more aggressive in helping customers find stronger growth potential through various networks as well as banking solutions.

He remarked that the bank’s 76 years was proof that BNI was an agile financial institution, able to adapt when faced with new challenges, which, if used properly, could be an opportunity to achieve success.

"In celebration of BNI's 76th anniversary this year, we raised the theme BNI for a Stronger Indonesia, which describes BNI's journey working for Indonesia to support economic recovery after the pandemic, so that BNI can jump higher, make BNI stronger and grow sustainably," he said.

Royke explained that not too long ago, BNI successfully opened a branch in Amsterdam to help the penetration of the export market in several countries in Europe.

"To further expand our network in our efforts to capture foreign potential, we still have plans to open more branches in the future," he said.

To support each strategic step, Royke said BNI had three products it championed.

Firstly, BNI Mobile Banking. BNI continues to grow its services and utilizes its ecosystem of the BNI Group, retailers and global partners, especially in responding to customer demands in this modern digital era.

Secondly, the bank’s program BNI Xpora. The state-owned bank is focused on increasing the potential of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) actors by taking advantage of various export opportunities outside the national market. BNI is also building a strong business base abroad by optimizing the diaspora segment, which has become Indonesia's promoting agent abroad.

Thirdly, BNI runs its Corporate Digital Services, a feature of BNIDirect that integrates business solutions and the corporate governance of customer finance, including international business banking solutions.

The target customers of this service include corporate, commercial and small business customers as well as start-ups including foreign businessmen who have business partners in Indonesia, Indonesian businessmen whose business reach overseas and/or have business groups abroad, representatives of the Indonesian government who are abroad and the Indonesian diaspora.

"For BNIDirect we will launch BNIDirect Overseas London and the CxO Dashboard [a consolidated financial information service for assets, liquidity and liabilities of the company and its business groups at home and abroad]," he concluded.

BNI's actions to help MSME Go Global

Throughout the year, steps have been taken by BNI to encourage MSMEs to go global, starting with the bank’s partnership with TradeBeyond Limited, the biggest e-commerce platform in Hong Kong.

The collaboration will secure a space for local MSMEs to garner attention directly from the people of Hong Kong, along with people from other countries who use the platform.

BNI has also formed a partnership with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) to strengthen the capacity and marketing network of MSME Go Global. BNI has become the preferred bank to optimize all overseas branch offices with almost worldwide coverage.

The company has also collaborated with the Korean Imported Association (KOIMA) to strengthen the database, as well as conducting more intensive business matching between Indonesia and the K-Pop country of origin.

To support financing, the fourth step taken by BNI was to also cooperates with the Indonesian Export Financing Agency (LPEI). BNI has collaborated with Eximbank to finance the fast-track system with a maximum financing facility of up to Rp 25 billion (US$1.67 million).

"To increase exports of MSME players, BNI has recruited communities of diaspora MSME players in New York, Hong Kong, Korea and Amsterdam. In fact, BNI has started to disburse diaspora loans, which we will continue to encourage in the future," he said.

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