„Indonesia is a promising market for German midcap exporters and investors alike. We want DZ BANK to play an active role in facilitating an access for our corporate clients of the Cooperative Financial Network to this challenging growth market“ says Gottfried Finken, Head of Structured Finance, on the occasion of the signing of a cooperation agreement between DZ BANK and PT Bank Central Asia on 28. June 2018. A similar agreement to support SME’s in particular was implemented in 2017 with the world’s largest development bank, China Development Bank. Further agreements with banks will be forthcoming in Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam and India.

PT Bank Central Asia is Indonesia’s third largest bank by assets and the largest private commercial bank in the country with over 1.260 branches. The main objective of the agreement is to offer mutual support to respective corporate clients – German corporate clients going to Indonesia and PT Bank Central Asia corporate clients coming to Germany. The agreement aims to provide banking services such as a streamlined account opening process, the facilitation in the disbursement of working capital facilities for entities abroad, offering access to E-banking solutions and hedging products. When establishing of a presence in Indonesia, German corporates often face significant challenges, not least when trying to mobilize funding locally. The use of DZ BANK counter-guarantees under the credit limit for the parent company will allow PT Bank Central Asia to provide working capital funding both faster and more competitively. Financing the running of a local operation in Indonesia has now become significantly easier for direct and Group clients.

Germany is Indonesia’s second largest European trading partner with significant potential for growth, given its infrastructure requirements and its large domestic consumer base. Indonesia is now the largest economy in Southeast Asia and by far the most populous country in the region. With it skilled labour force, Indonesia is an ideal market for manufacturing industries and a preferred production location for the German corporate sector. Since the beginning of this year, German companies have accounted for over 40 requests to invest in Indonesia. Based on the country’s relevance in the region, DZ BANK opened its Jakarta Representative Office in May 2017 to support corporate clients of the Cooperative Financial Network looking to enter the Indonesian market.