Monday, January 6th, 2014
SEOUL, KOREA - Woori Bank said on January 3 that its bid of acquire a 33-percent stake in Bank Saudara in Indonesia has finally been approved by the financial regulator there.
It has been 18 months since the bank signed a sales purchase agreement to take over the shares in June 2012. Bank Saudara is a top-30 bank in Indonesia with 110 sales offices across the country. Its total assets are estimated at US$727 million with paid-in capital $51 million.
Earlier in 1992, Woori Bank established a local unit Bank Woori Indonesia. With the latest share purchase, Woori Bank will become a second-largest stakeholder in the bank. Once Bank Woori Indonesia completes a merger with Bank Saudara, Woori Bank will become the largest shareholder.
Korean President Park Geun-hye in October last year visited Indonesia and urged her Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, "I hope the ongoing effort by Woori Bank to move into the Indonesian financial services market could be successful as the government approval for the deal is made expeditiously."
A Woori Bank official said, "With the investment in Bank Saudara we will engage in retail banking focusing on small business owners and low-income families. In the future, we hope to create a pan-Asian belt by opening offices in locations such as China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East."