HK transfers banking license to Bank Mandiri

HK transfers banking license to Bank Mandiri

HONG KONG (AFP): The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said
Monday that it had transferred the restricted banking license of
PT Bank Pembangunan Indonesia to PT Bank Mandiri, a new super-
bank.

Last week Mandiri was formed out of the merger of four
Indonesian state banks: Bank Bumi Daya, Bank Dagang Negara, Bank
Ekspor Impor Indonesia and Bank Pembangunan Indonesia.

A spokesman for the HKMA, Hong Kong's de facto central bank,
said the grant of transfer took effect on Saturday following the
creation of Bank Mandiri, which on Monday opened for business in
Jakarta.

The four failed banks were collectively known as the "Legacy
Banks," and the spokesman said the transfer would enable Mandiri
to continue their restricted banking activities in Hong Kong.

Previously, the business of the Legacy Banks was conducted
through the Hong Kong branch of Bank Pembangunan Indonesia and
two deposit-taking companies, Staco International Finance Ltd.
and Bumi Daya International Ltd.

As a restricted-license bank, the Hong Kong branch of the
state-owned Bank Mandiri will focus on trade financing and
corporate lending, which were the Legacy Banks' core business
activities in Hong Kong.

The new bank is the result of more than nine months of
intensive restructuring and reorganization of key operating
divisions.

Mandiri said in a statement that it would continue a
restructuring drive at the Legacy Banks' network across
Indonesia, aiming to cut their total number of branches from 700
to 529 Mandiri outlets.

The Indonesian government has agreed to recapitalize Bank
Mandiri through staged bond issues worth up to Rp 137.8 trillion
(about US$20.4 billion).

Mandiri president Robby Djohan last Thursday told a news
conference he expected strong growth for the new bank's
productive assets.

"We believe we will probably this year ... grow by about 10 to
12 percent," Djohan said.