Citi sees robust market in Indonesia

Top 16 emerging priority countries.

Indonesia belongs there if you ask Citigroup.

Stephen Bird, chief executive of Citi Asia Pacific, said he believed that over the next 15 to 20 years, Indonesia would play a bigger role in driving the world’s economy, thanks to the emerging middle class.

“McKinsey estimated that by 2030 there will be 700 million new entrances to the middle class in Asia, 100 million of those are here in Indonesia,” said Bird, referring to the McKinsey Global Institute, an international management consulting company.

Thus the US bank expects to see more mandates to arrange loans, bonds and share sales in the Southeast Asian nation.

A report released by McKinsey in September showed that Indonesia, currently the world’s 16th-largest economy, had a gross domestic product of about $846 billion last year.

McKinsey said Indonesia may add 90 million people to its “consuming class” by 2030, the most after China and India.

“We are committed to stay, we are not here just for transactions, we are here to build a relationship, we are here to help the economy.”

On the investment side of banking, Citigroup’s main competitors in Indonesia include Barclays Capital, UBS AG, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse Group.

For consumer banking, Citigroup’s competitors include HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank.

The Indonesian government and the country’s corporations are seeking funds from the global market, with Citigroup potentially being able to help the government and companies arrange capital market deals such as debt sales or share sales.

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