Mandiri profit rises 19% on credit demand<\/p>\n
Bloomberg, Jakarta<\/p>\n
PT Bank Mandiri, Indonesia's biggest lender by assets, said
\nprofit rose 19 percent in the nine months to Sept. 30 as lower
\ninterest rates encouraged companies and consumers to borrow more
\nand the cost of funds fell.<\/p>\n
Profit rose to Rp 4.48 trillion (US$499.1 million), or Rp
\n221.93 a share, from Rp 3.77 trillion, or Rp 186.8 a share, in
\nthe same period a year earlier, the bank said in an e- mailed
\nstatement in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Indonesian banks are reporting increased earnings after
\ninterest rates fell to a six-year low and stoked corporate
\nborrowing and consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of
\nthe $208 billion economy. Improved profit at Bank Mandiri may
\nhelp the government's plan to sell 10 percent of the lender to
\nhelp cut its budget deficit of Rp 26.3 trillion.<\/p>\n
\"We continue to see banks delivering good earnings, and we
\nhave no reason to believe that earnings momentum is going to slow
\nanytime in the near future,\" said Ross Teverson, who helps manage
\n$2.5 billion in Asian assets for Standard Life Investments,
\nincluding Indonesian stocks such as PT Bank Danamon.\"Loan growth
\nwill continue to be strong in 2005 because the overall economy is
\nquite healthy.\"<\/p>\n
The government forecasts the Indonesian economy, Southeast
\nAsia's largest, will expand 4.8 percent this year and 5.4 percent
\nin 2005, after 4.5 percent growth last year.<\/p>\n
Mandiri's net interest income, or revenue from borrowers after
\ndeducting interest paid to depositors, rose to Rp 7.13 trillion,
\nfrom Rp 5.83 trillion a year earlier.<\/p>\n
On Sept. 23, Mandiri said it expects higher profit this year
\nas consumers spend more following this year's peaceful
\nparliamentary and presidential elections. The bank posted a
\nprofit of Rp 4.59 trillion in 2003. Mandiri has set itself a
\ntarget of extending as much as Rp 11.4 trillion in new loans this
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Shares of Bank Mandiri, which have risen 82.5 percent this
\nyear, fell Rp 50, or 2.7 percent, to Rp 1,825 at the 4:00 p.m.
\nclose on the Jakarta Stock Exchange.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mandiri-profit-rises-19-on-credit-demand-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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