1/6/2018 – Japanese financial group Tokyo Century Corporation on Wednesday has acquired a 5 percent stake in Nobu Bank, an Indonesia-listed lender which is controlled by the country’s largest services conglomerate Lippo Group.
Although financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed, but shares of the bank were said to be purchased from its minority shareholders, who had been investors prior to the bank’s listing on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2013.
According to sources familiar with the deal, the Japanese company is also considering a more significant stake in the Indonesian bank.
Established in 1969, Tokyo Century is a deep-rooted financial company in Japan operating five national banks including Mizuho and MUFG, as well as boasting over 30 domestic and overseas subsidiaries.
Counting Itochu Corporation and Mizuho Group as its backers, Tokyo Century has a growing presence in the Southeast Asian market, where it claims to have made more than US$150 million investment over the past 12 months.
At present, the company also has two Indonesian subsidiaries which are PT Century Tokyo Leasing and PT. TCT Indonesia respectively.
This investment in Nobu Bank is said to an effort to further solidify Tokyo Century’s strategic partnership with Lippo Group, after its US$120 million investment in Lippo’s e-money platform, OVO in 2017.
Prior to that, Tokyo Century has also made a US$17 million investment in exchange for a 20 percent stake a Big Ecommerce Bersama, a Lippo-affiliate company that manages business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) e-consumer services.
Lippo Group is one of Asia’s largest and most diversified investment holding company with stakes in department stores, retailing, real estate, financial services, telecommunications, hospitality, healthcare, news media, and IT services.
In related news, shareholders in Nobu Bank are planning to inject additional capital into the bank to embark on a major digitization drive.
Moving forward, the bank plans to grow into the Buku 3 category, where its core capital lies between RP 5 trillion to RP 30 trillion (about US$360 million to US$2.16 billion) in the next 3 years.
