•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   
•    EYEWITNESS   

Bank QNB Kesawan of Indonesia is aiming to triple its lending this year to Rp 6 trillion ($672 million) due to the expected strong demand for loans among consumers and commercial institutions, an executive said on Friday.

Kesawan, controlled by Qatar National Bank, lent Rp 1.99 trillion last year, up 17 percent on a year earlier.

“We made many changes last year. We want to maintain growth, especially of credit, in which the company has been very aggressive in the last two quarters,” president director Madi D. Lazuardi said.

The commercial sector dominates with 60 percent of total loans, he said. The remainder is consumer credit.

“This is a pretty ideal composition. Going forward, we will keep the composition as it exists today,” he said.

Madi said Kesawan would focus on catering to institutional clients and issuing credit cards to retail consumers.

“Our total investment for the next five years is Rp 1.5 trillion. That’s needed for improving our infrastructure because we want to do wholesale banking,” he said.

The bank’s rapid growth was driven by a capital injection from a Rp 734 billion rights issue last year, he said. It increased the bank’s capital adequacy ratio to 46 percent in 2011, from 10 percent a year earlier.

Madi said assets were expected to grow by 122 percent this year to Rp 8 trillion this year.

Meanwhile, its holding of third-party funds is expected to reach Rp 7 trillion, up 165 percent on last year. Time deposits still dominate with 60 percent of the total third party funds, while the rest are current and savings accounts.

The bank posted a Rp 14 billion profit last year, up 235 percent.

Bank Kesawan’s lightly traded stock has remained at Rp 690 since Jan. 13.

Investor Daily