Hana Completes Deal to Buy Indonesian Bank
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
Hana Bank said Sunday it has obtained approval from Indonesia's financial regulators for an acquisition of a majority stake in PT Bank Bintang Manunggal, a tiny Indonesian bank with $30 million in assets.
Hana signed a contract in August to buy a 61 percent stake in the Indonesian lender for 3 billion won ($3.3 million).
``We've successfully completed the takeover deal by getting approval from Indonesia's central bank,'' Hana said in a statement.
The name of the bank has been changed to ``PT Bank Hana,'' and former Hana Life Insurance CEO Lee Jung-se has been appointed as its head, the bank said.
PT Bank Hana is now one of the smallest banks in Indonesia with just five branches, but the bank plans to increase the number to 200 over the next five years.
Korea's fourth-largest lender plans to grow PT Bank Bintang Manunggal into one of the top 20 banks in Indonesia through mergers with other small-sized lenders and by expanding business line-ups.
``The acquisition of PT Bank is very significant for our business in Southeast Asian countries,'' a Hana official said. ``We plan to set up more operations in Singapore and Indonesia to find more business opportunities in Southeast Asia.''