KB Kookmin Bank of South Korea has acquired a 22% stake in Indonesia’s Bank Bukopin, which is seen as the Korean bank’s effort to strengthen its foothold in Southeast Asia. KB Kookmin Bank said it is purchasing new shares issued by the Indonesian bank, and Indonesia’s Financial Service Authority approved the bank as an eligible institution for the takeover. With the acquisition, Korea’s largest lender by assets has become the Indonesian bank’s second-largest shareholder. With this acquisition, the bank is re-entering Indonesia, 10 years after it exited from the Southeast Asian country by selling off its stake in BII Bank to Malaysia’s Maybank in 2008. Specialized in retail banking, Bank Bukopin is Indonesia’s 14th-largest commercial lender in terms of capital with 322 branches across the country.
