Kookmin looking for other Asia opportunities

Kookmin looking for other Asia opportunities

Dow Jones, Seoul

Kookmin Bank, South Korea's largest lender, will look for investment opportunities in other Asian countries after it takes over PT Bank Internasional Indonesia with its partners, Kookmin Chief Executive Kim Jung-Tae said on Wednesday.

"We are targeting the entire Asian region. After Indonesia, we could look for opportunities in such countries as Malaysia, Thailand and India," said Kim in a telephone interview with Dow Jones Newswires.

Kim declined to say whether talks are underway in any of these countries.

Regarding the negative market reaction to its bid to take over BII, Kim said the response could be due to the lack of details on the deal so far, and the view could change after the official announcement.

Some market participants have warned that Kookmin Bank's takeover bid may be premature and said that the bank should focus more on reducing losses related to credit card operations and household loans.

"They don't know what they are talking about. It is a good chance for the bank to get experience (in another country) without spending too much money," said Kim.

The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency on Wednesday named a consortium led by Kookmin Bank and Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., the Singapore government's investment arm, as winning bidders for a 51 percent stake in BII.

Kim said BII, although the sixth largest, has strong credit card and foreign exchange operations.

"It has a reasonably sound position as it was recapitalized with public funds and it posted a net profit in the first half," Kim said.

After taking over BII, the consortium plans to focus on raising the value of the Indonesian bank.