Telecommunications firm Singtel and ride hailing app operator Grab each invested Rp 500bn ($35m) in Bank Fama International, an Indonesia-based digital bank owned by media group Emtek, today, indicating a rise in non-traditional banking in the country.
The corporates both acquired 2.4 billion shares from Bank Fama equating to a 16.3% stake each. Emtek’s Elang Media Visitama unit had agreed to acquire the company in November 2021, and the latest deal reduced its stake from 93% to 62.8%, according to Tech in Asia.
Founded in 1993, Bank Fama operates a digital consumer bank through a network of offices across the Indonesian cities of Bandung, Jakarta and Tangerang. It focuses on retail customers such as small and medium-sized enterprises.
Singtel and Grab had joined forces to apply to Singapore’s Monetary Authority for a digital full bank licence which was granted in December 2020, before the two got another similar permit from Malaysia’s central bank seven months later.
Indonesia has the most unbanked and underbanked population in Southeast Asia, Singtel told Straits Times, and it believes its funding for Fama will help hasten the adoption of digital banking in the country and promote further financial inclusion.
Other Southeast Asia-headquartered corporate investors have been ramping up strategic investments and acquisitions in Indonesia’s digital banking space in recent months.
On-demand ride provider Gojek’s Karya Anak Bangsa subsidiary invested about $160m in Indonesia-listed neobank Bank Jago in late 2020 through a deal which involved the corporate incorporating the latter’s cashless payment offering in its app.
E-commerce and gaming technology group Sea subsequently acquired Bank Keseelfare Ekonomi, the Indonesia-based digital bank now known as SeaBank, in February 2021.
E-commerce group Bukalapak.com, conglomerate Salim Group and vehicle marketplace operator Carro were among the investors that took part in a $356m round for Indonesia-listed digital lending service provider Allo Bank earlier this month.
Corporates active in the region’s digital banking space include messaging app owner Line, consumer credit provider FinAccel and consumer finance platform developer Akulaku.
