Jakarta, 7 February 2022 -- PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero), Tbk. successfully posted positive growth in international business performance last year. Network expansion as well as the creation of an overseas business ecosystem is a strategic plan for international business expansion2022.
As for, BNI's main international business comes from trade finance and remittances, which in these two business segments BNI was able to grow very well during the economic recovery period last year. In line with the momentum for the reversal of Indonesia's foreign trade performance in 2021, BNI's Export Trade volume grew in the range of 76.73%, while BNI's import trade volume was in the range of 120.41%. In fact, the acceleration of performance growth was higher than the growth in national trade volume which reached 41.88% for exports and 38.59% for imports.
This has also encouraged an increase in fee-based income or trade fee-based income (FBI), which in 2021 grew by 7.46% on an annual basis or year-on-year (yoy). The main export commodities through BNI are in the oil & gas sector as well as minerals, iron & steel, and wood, while BNI's highest import commodities are in the oil & gas sector as well as minerals, iron & steel and chemicals. Meanwhile, the highest destination countries for the Indonesian global Bank are Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Japan. Meanwhile, the highest BNI imports came from Singapore, UAE, Hong Kong and India.
BNI’s Treasury and International Director, Henry Panjaitan said that the accelerated recovery of BNI's international business performance could be a driving force for Indonesia's foreign trade performance. "This is because BNI not only follows growth trends but is also actively looking for new international business growth niches during the pandemic last year. Trade growth was supported by new customer acquisition activities from the corporate and commercial segments. In addition, BNI Trade Online services as a digital solution are also increasingly in demand by customers, as reflected by the large addition of users, which is around 79.71 percent in 2021," he said.
Apart from that, Henry said that the international business of remittances also grew positively. The volume of remittances from the corporate segment grew 8.4% YoY, driven by the national economy recovery in 2021 and supported by the development of the outgoing remittance feature in BNI cash management services.
In the meantime, remittances from the individual non-PMI segment also grew 6.8%, supported by BNI's partnership with global payment providers in overseas and the development of the outgoing remittance feature in BNI Mobile Banking services.
Meanwhile, in the Indonesian Migrant Workers segment, although the volume of remittances from PMI nationally has not rebounded, TKI remittance transactions channelled through BNI still show an increase of 2.2% YoY.
One of the focuses of future international business development is to fulfill the needs of Diaspora abroad through several products and services that can be accessed anywhere, anytime. BNI is preparing a digital Diaspora Account Opening which also involves BNI Foreign Branch Offices," he said.
Overseas Branch Office Expansion
Henry ensures that this year the company will also expand its overseas business reach by adding branch offices. BNI will add outlets or overseas office networks in the form of establishing representative offices in several potential countries.
He said that in responding to the economic potential in post-Brexit Europe, BNI would establish a Representative Office in Amsterdam. The company is also looking at the potential for Indonesia-related businesses in the west coast and Central America by exploring the establishment of an office in Los Angeles.
"Besides, several other countries in Asia, Australia and the Middle East will also be our next targets. Of course, as we will continue to improve our business existence as a representative Bank of Indonesia in the global arena," Henry said.
Furthermore, Henry said the company will also be proactive in developing digital platforms to make it easier for customers to access BNI services, especially in trade and remittance transactions. BNI will also strengthen cooperation with companies, associations, fintech that operate globally and support the creation of a productive business ecosystem.
"We also use the Xpora platform to print and bring domestic business players into global players, including MSME players," he added.