BRI 9-month profit soars 48%
BRI 9-month profit soars 48%
PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), the nation's fourth-largest
lender, said profit rose 48 percent in the nine months ended
Sept. 30 on rising demand for credit in an economy growing at its
fastest pace in four years.
Profit rose to Rp 2.7 trillion (US$300 million), President-
Director Rudjito said in Jakarta.
The bank's profit in the January to September period last year
was Rp 1.82 trillion.
"The lender benefited from the loans it made to small and
medium companies," said Irvin Patmadiwiria, who helps manage $200
million of assets at PT Batavia Prosperindo Aset Manajemen in
Jakarta and holds BRI stock.
"They are more prompt about repayments" than big corporations.
BRI and other lenders are benefiting from increased borrowing
by consumers and companies after three peaceful elections,
including the first direct presidential poll, bolstered
confidence in Southeast Asia's largest economy.
The $208 billion economy is forecast by the government to grow
5.4 percent next year and 4.8 percent this year, from 4.5 percent
last year.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a former general, was inaugurated as
the nation's sixth president on Oct. 20, after he defeated
Megawati Soekarnoputri in a second-round run-off in September.
Cheaper loans are helping spur the construction of homes and
shopping malls and fuel consumer spending, which already accounts
for more than two-thirds of the economy.
Banks are also benefiting because deposit rates have fallen
faster than lending rates, helping make loans more profitable.
The average rupiah lending rate at Indonesian banks was 15.7
percent, compared with an average six-month deposit rate of 6.17
percent, in the first nine months of this year.
BRI, a state-controlled lender, has 3,931 branches across
Indonesia. It has targeted extending Rp 11 trillion in new loans
this year. The bank made Rp 8.22 trillion of new loans last year.
Most of BRI's loans are to small-and medium- sized businesses.
The lender expects to make Rp 3.4 trillion in profit next
year, Rudjito said last month.
After the announcement, BRI shares in the Jakarta Stock
Exchange ended higher Rp 2,250 on Wednesday, up by Rp 25 from the
previous day's closing. -- AP