Indonesia mulls BRI merger with two state-owned finance firms

The bank will be integrated with a pawnshop chain and a micro-business money firm.

Indonesia’s state-owned enterprises minister revealed that the government wants to merge Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) with two state-owned financial firms by June, pending a decision from BRI’s CEO, reports Reuters.

BRI, the country’s largest bank by assets, will be integrated with pawnshop chain Pegadaian and micro-business finance firm Permodalan Nasional Madani, SOE minister Erick Thohir said.

However, BRI chief executive Sunarso stated the structure of any merger has not been decided yet.

Thohir had revealed that he wants to slash the number of state companies from around 140 by merging or shuttering underperforming firms to increase profitability.

Here’s more from Reuters.