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ublicly listed lender Bank Mega (MEGA) is prepared to expand its business by taking over several banks owned by regional administrations that are in need of financial and managerial assistance.

Bank Mega chief commissioner Chairul Tanjung said he would welcome any of those banks known as regional development banks (BPD) that are seeking to partner with Bank Mega.

'We are interested in assisting the regions by working with regional development banks because these banks have a significant impact on development activities of the regions,' he said on Wednesday.

Bank Mega recently took over 30 percent of shares, worth Rp 62 billion (US$6.38 million), of the Central Sulawesi Regional Development Bank.

According to Chairul, numerous regional development banks are experiencing difficulties as a result of their limited funds for financing, in addition to bank managerial capacity.

'They need a partner that can help them with capital as well as implementing the necessary management and technological systems,' Chairul said.

The tycoon, whose net worth is $3.4 billion according to Forbes, said the Central Sulawesi bank, for example, was in need of funds to finance housing projects whose cost could surpass the bank's assets.

He added that, if the provincial banks were able to develop their region, the whole country would 'prosper' as well.

'And my business will develop if the country develops,' he said.

Based on their 2012 annual report, Bank Mega saw net profits grow 28.3 percent year-on-year to Rp 1.3 trillion by the end of last year. The bank earned Rp 3.3 trillion in net interest income, a figure 23.5 percent higher annually.

The bank's return on assets (ROA) stood at 2.74 percent while return on equity (ROE) measured 27.44 percent. Meanwhile, Bank Mega's loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) was 52.39 percent, with a gross non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 2.09 percent.

Kostaman Thayib, the newly appointed president director of the bank, further added that this year, the bank would keep their focus on providing credit to small and medium industries, in addition to the consumer, commercial and corporate segments.

'We would like to intensify our [group] consolidation to ready ourselves for faster growth in the coming years,' he said.

He added that Bank Mega would focus on fortifying their credit card products and services by 'synergizing with other business units under CT Corp'.

'As of December 2012, Bank Mega has issued almost 1.7 million Visa credit cards, making us the number one issuer of such cards,' he pointed out.

PT CT Corpora, founded by Chairul Tanjung, is a diversified business conglomerate with business units in various industries such as broadcasting, through television stations Trans TV and Trans 7, and retail, through Carrefour.