 "Passengers use their mobile phones on a skytrain in Bangkok")
It’s only fitting that Thailand’s second-largest bank pipped a Japanese rival to buy a lender in Indonesia. The elixir of youth is a great attraction to those who no longer have it.
Just like in Japan, the aging Thai population is propelling the economy into long-term stagnation, leaving the likes of Bangkok Bank Pcl with no choice except to seek their fortunes in younger societies bubbling over with credit demand at juicy yields. Hence, the $2.7 billion bid for 90 per cent of Indonesia’s PT Bank Permata.
At 1.8 times book value, the first major overseas acquisition by a Thai bank isn’t
