Bank Bukopin to Expand to RI Eastern Part

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Publicly-listed lender PT Bank Bukopin is preparing new business plans after Indonesian conglomerate Bosowa Group becomes its controlling shareholder.

Bank Bukopin president director Glen Glenardi said his company would penetrate Central Sulawesi and West Papua to expand its business. “We will open new branches in Palu and Sorong,” he said in Jakarta on Thursday, May 28, 2015.

Glen said Bukopin’s expansion to the country’s eastern part was among the implications of Bosowa’s ownership in the company. Bosowa, known for possessing multiple businesses in Indonesia’s eastern regions, presently controls 30 percent of Bukopin’s shares.

Glen said the cost for the expansion was quite significant allowing for the relatively high prices of land in the areas. However, Glen explained the investments in both regions were lower than investing in Java.

Besides expansion, Bukopin also plans to establish strategic cooperation with Bosowa’s subsidiaries, among them with insurance firm PT Bosowa Asuransi—which subsequently scrapped Bukopin’s initial plans to acquire an insurance company.

“Now that everything is clear, I don’t see why we need to have more subsidiaries,” he said, adding that Bukopin would strive for a synergy on business considerations that would result in mutual benefits.

BISNIS.COM