Indian bank keen on Indonesian expansion

State Bank of India is keen on expanding its presence in South East Asia by acquiring an Indonesian bank. The bank has allotted USD 100 million for the deal.

SBI believes that the potential for growth is quite high in the Indonesian market and has identified two to three banks for this purpose.

The bank presently has a subsidiary in the country by the name, PT Bank SBI Indonesia. This subsidiary has branch network of six.

Increasing branch network is a time consuming affair, said the official. This is why an inorganic growth route is considered as an easier mode of expansion.