Commonwealth raises RI stake

JAKARTA (JP): Commonwealth Bank of Australia announced on Monday it has acquired 99 percent interest in its Indonesian joint venture bank, Bank BII Commonwealth.

The Australian bank, which already owned 50 percent in the joint venture bank, acquired the other 49 percent for A$13 million (about US$7.64 million).

The remaining 1 percent is held by a trust because under Indonesian law an overseas company can't wholly own an Indonesian company, a Commonwealth Bank spokesman said.

Llew Morris, the president of BII Commonwealth, said that the joint venture bank would be relaunched using the Commonwealth Bank global brand and would provide a wide range of retail financial services.

"The full ownership by a strong parent like Commonwealth allows us to invest further in building resources and new technology to service our customers," Morris said in a statement.

The 50-50 joint venture with Bank Internasional Indonesia has been operating in Indonesian since 1997. Commonwealth Bank, through its recent merger with Colonial, also owns 50 percent of the Indonesian life insurance company PT Astra CMG Life.(hen)