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sset management firm Mandiri Investment Management (MIM) Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based subsidiary of Indonesia'€™s Mandiri Manajemen Investasi (MMI), expects to book US$100 million in total assets under management during the first year of its operations, which will officially begin Wednesday.

The new subsidiary will assist Singaporeans wanting to invest in Indonesia, both through foreign direct investment (FDI) and the Indonesian capital market platforms, the company'€™s chief executive officer Evan Lim said.

'€œThey may want to invest in the real sector or enter the capital market. In the real sector, we will help them to get in touch with the BKPM [Investment Coordinating Board], while in the capital market, we will provide them with access to Indonesian securities,'€ he said in Singapore.

MIM has held talks with several potential investors and it expects to launch its first products in the next quarter. Shipping, infrastructure and renewable energy are among the business sectors that the investors are currently looking into.

In the capital market, the consumer-based sector remains one of the most attractive for Singaporean investors, Lim said, citing that with Indonesia'€™s huge population, business involved in the sale and production of consumers goods would continue flourishing in the future.

'€œThe investment prospects are bright because around 80 percent of the activities of the private banks here are related to Indonesian clients. So they know Indonesia well already,'€ he added.

Both MIM and MMI are part of Indonesia'€™s largest lender, Bank Mandiri. MIM officially obtained its business license as a registered fund management company from the Monetary Authority of Singapore in August 2013. MMI sales and investment director Wendy Isnandar said that the business expansion to Singapore was part of the bank'€™s effort as a financial group to prepare for the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.

Wendy said that domestically, MMI hoped to see its assets under management grow by 30 percent from 2013 to stand at Rp 25 trillion ($2.2 billion) by year-end. As of February, the figure had reached Rp 21.2 trillion.

Besides MIM, the recent expansion also includes the opening of Mandiri Sekuritas'€™ Singapore branch office. At the moment, the branch'€™s business is limited to bond trading to institutional clients only as it still operates under the exempt Capital Markets Services (CMS) category.

Lawrence Ong, the Singapore branch head, said that it expected to obtain an upgrade in its license to CMS this year to enable it to conduct wider activities, including underwriting and corporate advisory.

'€œWe hope to be able to attract market dealers, investors and private banks once we secure the full license,'€ Ong said.

According to Mandiri Sekuritas managing director Laksono Widodo, no specific target had been set for the branch yet.

Meanwhile, Mandiri Sekuritas itself eyes a total of Rp 10 trillion to Rp 12 trillion in underwriting value in 2014, generated from 10 initial public offerings (IPOs) and 20 bonds issuances. Last year, it managed to post Rp 11.43 trillion by managing five IPOs, three rights issues and 22 bonds issuances.