OCBC is one of Singapore’s three homegrown banks and Indonesia has been touchy in the past about ceding control of its lenders to the neighboring city-state. Just ask DBS Group Holdings. The larger rival to OCBC had to walk away from a US$6.5 billion ($9 billion) acquisition of PT Bank Danamon Indonesia in 2013 after Jakarta kicked up a fuss about lack of reciprocity for Indonesian banks getting licensed in Singapore. The central bank curbed the DBS plan for full ownership to a minority stake.
(Aug 15): “Do you have Jakarta’s blessing?” That’s the first question Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp CEO Samuel Tsien will be asked by investors about his plan to buy Indonesia’s PT Bank Permata.
OCBC is weighing a bid for Standard Chartered’s Indonesian bank, Bloomberg News has reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Deliberations are still at an early stage and may not result in a deal. And even if they do, there’s the government to consider.
