0 Bank Mandiri builds partnership with PT Pos, Taspen

State-owned bank Bank Mandiri is forging a strategic partnership with postal company PT Pos Indonesia and pension insurance firm PT Taspen for micro-loans and pension funds disbursement. The partnership will be implemented through Bank Sinar Harapan Bali (BSHB), a Bank Mandiri subsidiary in Denpasar, Bali. Mandiri will sell shares in BSHB to Pos Indonesia and Taspen, while retaining majority ownership in the bank. “That is the plan,” Bank Mandiri president director Zulkifli Zaini said after companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Jakarta on Thursday. 

As of December, Mandiri held an 81.5 percent stake in BSHB, while 18.5 percent was controlled by others. Zulkifli declined to go into details about the partnership, saying that the companies were still in negotiations and that they hoped the “new” BSHB would come into full operation this year. According to Zulkifli, the partnership would allow BSHB to expand its network and customer coverage. “Bank Sinar Harapan will be able to open branches at Pos Indonesia’s outlets. It will also be able to increase its number of clients by serving the customers of Pos Indonesia and Taspen.” 

Mandiri acquired majority ownership of BSHB in 2008. BSHB currently runs 120 offices in Bali, serving more than 115,000 customers. Meanwhile, Pos Indonesia operates 24,000 outlets and Taspen has 2.4 million state pension fund beneficiaries. Pos Indonesia president director I Ketut Mardjana said that the company had wanted to develop such a partnership since Bank Mandiri was headed by Agus Martowardojo, now finance minister. According to Ketut, his company expected the partnership to boost its revenues from financial services. 

Besides offering mail and logistics services, Pos Indonesia provides financial services by managing retirement fund disbursements from Taspen at its outlets. Income from financial services currently accounted for 40 percent of Pos Indonesia’s total revenues, while 60 percent came from mail and logistics, Ketut said. “We are looking to offering other services, such as micro-loans and micro-savings. Hopefully, the financial business will be able to offset the logistics services,” he added. 

This year, Pos Indonesia said it was aiming to increase its revenue to Rp 4.3 trillion (US$443.39 million), which would be 30 percent higher than its target for 2012. Contacted separately, Taspen finance director Tri Lestari said that the firm was partnering with 48 banks and the postal firm to disburse pension funds for state workers. Last year, it channeled Rp 59.5 trillion in pension funds. “The beneficiary numbers grow between 50,000 and 100,000 people every year. So Bank Sinar Harapan will assist us in serving new retirees. At the same time, we will still cooperate with existing bank partners,” she said.

source : the jakarta post