JAKARTA – After the acquisition of PT Bank Permata Tbk (BNLI) by Bangkok Bank, Indonesia is once again welcoming another acquisition by a major bank of Thailand, KasikornBank, or more familiarly known as KBank, through the takeover of 84.55% of PT Bank Maspion Tbk (BMAS).

It is known that the first investment of KBank in Bank Maspion was done through the acquisition of 9.99% of its shares in 2017. Then, since 2022, KBank has been announced as the new controlling shareholder after raising its portion in BMAS to 67.5%.

Lastly, in 2023, KBank once again boosted its portion to 84.55% by injecting capital of IDR 3.5 trillion, thus upgrading this bank, headquartered in East Java, to BUKU 2, with total authorised capital of up to IDR 6.6 trillion as of June 2024.

Aside from being one of the oldest banks in Thailand after its establishment in 1945, it is worth mentioning that KasikornBank is also one of the top three banks in Thailand, with total assets of THB 4.25 trillion as of June 2024, equal to nearly IDR 2 quadrillion. It is far above the assets of PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (BBCA), one of the biggest banks in Indonesia, which was recorded at IDR 1.43 quadrillion in June 2024.

Based on its financial report, KBank’s net interest income nearly arrived at THB 76 billion in the first half (H1) of 2024, equal to IDR 35.5 trillion and up 6.2% year-on-year (yoy), with net profit reaching THB 26.2 billion or equal to IDR 12.2 trillion, skyrocketing 20.6% yoy.

 

Tried and tested in MSME financing segment

Quoting Kittichart Potithat, First Vice President of KasikornBank, when welcoming press delegations at the Embassy of Indonesia in Thailand last Wednesday (16/10), through acquiring Bank Maspion, KBank claims to be ready to contribute its expertise in MSME financing as well as digital banking.

Still within the same series of event for press held by KasikornBank in Thailand, Chat Luangarpa, Executive Vice President of KBank and President Commissioner of Bank Maspion, also said that KBank dominated MSME financing market in Thailand by up to 22%.

“KBank, with its robust expertise in SME financing from Thailand, will support the expansion of MSME financing in Indonesia,” said the management in the press release last Thursday (17/10).

However, KBank’s endeavour in strengthening MSME financing in Indonesia through Bank Maspion will surely be an enduring journey. As of June 2024, BMAS only channelled credits of IDR 15.17 trillion, only 1.5% of MSME credit portfolio of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk (BBRI), which reached over IDR 1 trillion as of this June.

 

Digital banking expertise utilisation

In addition, KBank claims that one of its advantages lies in its state-of-the-art digital banking system. For information, KBank indeed has a subsidiary specially engaged in technology sector, KBTG. Initially, KBTG was the IT division of KBank, which was then spun off into a separate entity that now, aside from managing IT services and operational of its parent company, also develops various digital application and innovations.

As of now, one of the sweet results from the strategic partnership between Bank Maspion and KBank is the launch of its new mobile banking app MEB in 2024 with more modern user interface and experience.

In the meantime, KBank’s own mobile banking, K+, has reported over 22 million users in Thailand with 80% of active users. “We made almost 50% of total market share of digital transaction on a daily basis,” claimed Pipit Aneaknithi, President of KBank, on the same occasion.

Digital banking transactions in Indonesia have indeed been consistently growing. According to IDNFinancials data, until 2023, Bank Indonesia reported digital banking transactions of IDR 58.5 quadrillion.

As of Q1 2024, it even reached IDR 15.9 quadrillion, up 16.15% yoy, with BCA dominating total transactions worth IDR 6.6 quadrillion, followed by BBRI with IDR 1.25 quadrillion.

 

Optimistic yet realistic vision of Bank Maspion and KBank

With tried-and-tested capability in Thailand market, KBank is committed to drive Bank Maspion’s performance in Indonesia. However, putting Bank Maspion’s limitations into consideration, KBank is acting more realistic, only setting Bank Maspion to be the biggest bank in East Java by 2027.

During her presentation, Kasemsri Charoensiddhi, President Director of BMAS, also aims that in 2025-2027, BMAS will be able to score credit growth of up to 2.2 times, with deposit growth of up to 2 times.

It was also mentioned that KBank will utilise its regional network to acquire market share of trade financing in MEA+3 (ASEAN, China, Japan, and South Korea). With KBank’s support, Bank Maspion now can reach segments that require higher working capital facility. “BMAS can unlock the possibility to tap into some segments that have never been accessible; large corporate, for example,” said Luangarpa.

Moreover, KBank is also discussing the possibility of rebranding Bank Maspion to become KBank Indonesia, using KBank’s renowned name in the regional area. “There have been plans, but there has been no set timeline,” concluded Luangarpa last Thursday (17/10). (ZH)