ANZ lifts stake in Indonesian banking

The West Australian

ANZ Banking Group Ltd will lift earnings from its Indonesia operations as it expands its retail and business banking franchise in 2009. 

ANZ has paid institutional investors $US114 million (A$166 million) to lift its stake in Jakarta-listed PT Panin Bank by 8.4 per cent to 38.3 per cent in an off-market transaction, the bank said. 

The move reflects the opportunities on offer through Panin's strong market position, ANZ Chief Executive Officer Asia Pacific, Alex Thursby said. 

ANZ has tagged Indonesia as one of its top five priority countries in its new super regional strategy, although the Melbourne-based lender has been a shareholder in Indonesia's seventh largest bank since 1999. 

Chief executive Mike Smith told offshore investors last November that ANZ aims to become a top four bank in Indonesia with a significant franchise. 

ANZ lifted its after-tax profit from its Asia Pacific (excluding New Zealand) businesses by 52 per cent in fiscal 2008 to $413 million from a very low base. 

PT Panin Bank has over $8 billion in assets and over 300,000 customers. 

By raising its ownership in PT Panin Bank, ANZ will enjoy a continued uptick in earnings from ANZ's retail and business banking joint venture with Panin - PT ANZ Panin Bank - already underway in fiscal 2008. 

The local lender has an 85 per cent stake in PT ANZ Panin Bank, which is planning to open 10 more branches across Indonesia in 2009 after ANZ's Indonesia chief executive Joseph Abraham opened two new branches in Indonesia's second largest city, Surabaya last month. 

Around 1,000 Indonesia-based bank staff will be relocated to ANZ's Jakarta tower as part of the expansion. 

ANZ reckons by 2012 South East Asia's share of overall banking wallet growth, or proportion of a retail customer's banking expenses, or `wallet', that flows to ANZ, is expected to be $US29 billion ($A42.1 billion). 

This includes customers in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. 

By contrast, the bank expects China's (excluding Hong Kong) overall banking wallet growth to jump by $US152 billion ($A221 billion), and Australia's by just $US19 billion ($A27.6 billion). 

ANZ's South East Asia operations contributed an after tax profit of $179 million during fiscal 2008, up 68 per cent on the previous year.