Indonesian bank starts operations in Mumbai, to boost India-Asean business

The Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) launched its operations in India Wednesday by opening a branch in Mumbai.

Dato Khairussaleh Ramli, BII president, said the Mumbai branch would open up new business opportunities as India is considered one of the fastest growing economies in Asia and the world.

"The activation of BII Mumbai is in line with the Group's mission in humanizing financial services across Asia," Ramli said.

BII is a subsidiary of the Maybank Group, one of the largest banks in Asean by total assets and market capitalisation with headquarters in Malaysia. BII Mumbai will enhance both BII and Maybank Group's presence beyond the Asean region.

With trade flows between India and the Asean countries already at $79 billion and expected to reach $100 billion by 2015, the Mumbai branch will provide a host of trade, foreign exchange and related banking products and services to Indian companies with business interests in the Asean region and vice versa.

It will also cater to Maybank Group's customers and their counterparts for their banking requirements in India.

By September this year, BII hopes to focus on corporate and commercial banking segment by arranging Buyers' Credit and External Commercial Borrowings for the Indian customers.

Pravin Batra, CEO, BII India Operations, said the bank would emerge as a 'dominant intra-ASEAN Trade Finance Bank'.

BII, one of the largest Indonesian banks, has 415 branches, including international presence in Mauritius and now Mumbai.