Singaporean tech conglomerate Sea Group is reportedly poised to acquire a minority stake in HiBank, a subsidiary of PT Bank Negara Indonesia Tbk (BNI). Royke Tumilaar, BNI’s president director had confirmed this development.
BNI, a state-owned entity and the controlling shareholder of HiBank, aims to maintain its majority stake post-transaction, indicating a strategic alliance rather than a takeover.
According to DealStreetAsia, Sea Group is negotiating to buy a 10-15% stake in HiBank Indonesia and the transaction expected to conclude as early as the next quarter.
The backdrop to this deal is HiBank’s rebranding journey, transitioning from PT Bank Mayora following its acquisition by BNI in May 2022. Currently, BNI holds a 63.92% stake in HiBank, with the remainder owned by PT Mayora Inti Utama.
The collaboration extends beyond mere equity acquisition. HiBank is in the midst of developing a comprehensive app designed to serve a wide range of customers, from SMEs and their supply chains to retail customers seeking personal finance services, including options like buy now, pay later schemes.
Sea Group’s involvement in the app’s design phase, which is anticipated to launch in the current quarter, suggests a deepening partnership aimed at enhancing digital banking services in Indonesia.
The group had launched a digital banking platform in Indonesia known as SeaBank. Bank Seabank Indonesia was formerly known as PT Bank Kesejahteraan Ekonomi and changed its name in 2021 following the acquisition by Sea Limited.
Sea Group has also secured a full digital bank license in Singapore to operate as Maribank, as well as forming a consortium with YTL Digital Capital to set up a digital bank in Malaysia.
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