Thailand’s Kasikornbank is keen on biying a bank in Indonesia. However, it may not be able to do so immediately in view of the ASEAN Banking Integration Framework. Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK), which regulates and supervises the financial services sectors in the country, only allows a foreign investor to acquire a majority-stake in small Indonesian banks provided the foreign investor purchases two (small) banks and merge these into one entity. However, if the foreign investor only acquires one existing bank in Indonesia, then foreign ownership is limited to a maximum of 40%. A spokesperson for OJK said it is difficult for any Thai bank to open a branch in Indonesia through an acquisition, especially because financial market regulators in both countries need to make an agreement first. Besides that, the Bangkok Bank already exists in Indonesia, and before another Thai bank can be established here, there need to be at least two or three Indonesian banks that set up a branch in Thailand first (reciprocity principle).
