<article><a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.bankmandiri.co.id/">Bank Mandiri</a>, Indonesia&#8217;s state-owned and largest lender by assets, has said it will strengthen offshore business units with a focus on China and Singapore this year.</article>

<a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.bankmandiri.co.id/">Bank Mandiri</a>, Indonesia&#8217;s state-owned and largest lender by assets, has said it will strengthen offshore business units with a focus on China and Singapore this year.
The bank projects overseas business assets to grow 12-13% from the current $3 billion to between $3.3 billion and $3.5 billion in 2016. 
Bank Mandiri director of treasure and markets Pahala Mansury pointed out that offshore operations, especially those related to capital market activities, still have much room to grow. 
“I believe that it’s got great potential. We will continue to bolster our global market related activities, such as cross currency and bond distribution, in these two countries,” he said.
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Mansury said, the bank is waiting for Singaporean authorities to approve its application for a capital market license. 
The license, expected to be released in June, would allow Bank Mandiri to develop its <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.mandirisekuritas.co.id/">Mandiri Sekuritas</a> branch in Singapore into a subsidiary. 
“We will then inject about $2,5 million to $5 million in the next 3 to 4 years to support activities in the Singapore branch,” he added. 
Meanwhile Chinese operations are expected to get a boost from Shanghai office’s newly secured license to engage in renmimbi transactions. It is taking advantage of the trend as many customers are switching from dollar to renminbi for trading. 
With its stronger presence, Bank Mandiri targets loan disbursement in China to grow 44%, and in Singapore by 25%.
Last year, the bank’s offshore division only contributed 3% of total revenue. But it is now expected to book higher growth than domestic operations on the back of “reduced presence” of international banks in the regions. 
Mansury said Bank Mandiri’s competitors have begun to reduce capital allocations in Asia, opening up opportunities for the bank to expand and improve market share. 
Bank Mandiri operates seven branch offices outside the country &#8211; Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Malaysia, East Timor, the UK, and the Cayman Islands &#8211; which provide funding, trade finance, treasury, investment banking, bilateral lending, and other transactions. 
The bank plans to focus on the Southeast Asian region for future expansion, although no concrete plans are yet in motion. 
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Indonesia's Bank Mandiri to step up focus on Singapore, China ops

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