A subsidiary of OCBC Bank of Singapore (OCBC), OCBC Indonesia, has reached an agreement to acquire the Commonwealth Bank of Indonesia (PTBC) from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA).。

The agreement provides that OCBC Indonesia will acquire 99% of PTBC's outstanding common stock and also intends to acquire the remaining 1% from other shareholders.。The turnover of all shares is expected to exceed 1.S $900 million (about 1.$40.7 billion)。

Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions and, according to documents submitted to the Singapore Exchange by OCBC, also requires approval from the Financial Services Authority of Indonesia (OJK) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).。The proposed acquisition would expand the size of OCBC's Indonesian branch and deepen OCBC's presence in Indonesia, the documents said.。

"As there is little overlap in the client relationships of OCBC Indonesia and PTBC, the proposed acquisition is expected to generate synergies and strengthen the franchise value of OCBC Indonesia," OCBC wrote in a statement on November 16.。

PTBC focuses on retail and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), offering a range of banking and wealth management products, and its retail and SME customer base complements OCBC Indonesia.。As of June 30, PTBC had more than 1.2 million customers with total assets of A $1.8 billion and net assets of 3.900 million Australian dollars。

According to the plan, after the completion of the acquisition, PTBC will be merged into OCBC Indonesia Branch。The agreement states: "OCBC Indonesia will work closely with PTBC to bring in customers and staff to ensure a smooth handover.。"

It follows a similar move by OCBC's rivals - acquiring banking institutions in the region to expand its presence in Asia.。

OCBC, UoB and DBS are the largest banks in Southeast Asia.。All three banks have reaped sizeable profits in the past year amid a wave of high interest rates。

In April 2021, Citigroup announced its exit from 14 consumer markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Mexico, while UoB and DBS were the first to acquire Citi's assets in Asia.。

UoB said early last year it would buy Citi's portfolio of unsecured and secured loans in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, as well as its wealth management and retail deposits businesses, for about S $4.9 billion.。By the end of March, the number of regional customers had increased from 5 million to more than 7 million following the completion of the merger with Citi's consumer banking operations in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.。

In addition, Citi completed the sale of its Taiwan consumer banking business to DBS in August 2022.。DBS says it will use a net asset value above 9.S $5.6 billion premium to buy Citi's assets in Taiwan。

According to CBA insiders, the acquisition of PTBC by OCBC Indonesia is expected to be completed in the second or third quarter of next year, and the bank is in the process of selling its stake in PTBC to OCBC.。Separately, OCBC Indonesia said it had sufficient financial resources to fund the proposed acquisition with internal cash.。

CBA, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, believes that while CBA has been involved in the development of PTBC since 1997, the share sale is in line with its "Australian and New Zealand banking focus" development strategy and looks forward to working with OCBC Indonesia on the transfer of ownership in the coming months.。