(20 November 2012 – Japan) State-owned Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) has signed its 42nd Japanese bank partnership, the latest with Iyo Bank will strengthen BNI’s foothold in the Japanese banking system.Iyo Bank is the largest regional bank in Shikoku Prefecture, and has signed the cooperation agreement with BNI allowing it to provide more financial services to Japanese clients, especially those that do business in Indonesia.
Iyo Bank has 150 branches in 13 prefectures in Japan, it manages US$57 billion (A$54.9 billion) in assets, almost twice the total assets overseen by BNI – Indonesia’s fourth-largest bank by assets.
Japanese investments in Indonesia hit US$1.8 billion (A$1.7 billion) from January to September, said the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).
This made Japan Indonesia’s second-largest foreign direct investment source after Singapore, which invested US$3.5 billion (A$3.3 billion) during the same period.