Jakarta, 1 May 2022 -- PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk or BNI (stock code: BBNI) offers a variety of financial services for diaspora overseas, one of which is investment products. Diaspora can continue to invest in the country through the Diaspora Invest product.
"If you invest overseas, the money is small. In Indonesia, the profits are big. In Indonesia, you can buy bonds, you can buy shares. We also facilitate," said BNI Head of International Division, Legendariah B Rasuanto.
According to Legendariah, various investment instruments can be utilized by the diaspora, including Government Securities (SBN), stocks, and corporate bonds.
In his opinion, investment is important for diaspora, because by investing, the diaspora’s survival is expected to be guaranteed in the future with the formation of a financial safety net resulting from their investment.
In addition, investment in financial instruments from Indonesia also encourages the diaspora to take part and contribute to domestic economic growth.
"That way, diaspora also has the opportunity to benefit from investment instruments in Indonesia as well as contribute to the economy," he explained.
Diaspora Lending
In addition to the ease of investing, BNI also opens up opportunities for diaspora to increase their business through financing. Legendariah said that BNI has Diaspora Lending, which is designed for diaspora to develop their business.
In addition, BNI has also prepared trading houses that can be used by diaspora who have taken advantage of financing from BNI. Another product is BNI More (mobile remittance).
Through this product, diaspora can top up their e-wallet and send electronic money anywhere.
"This is already available in Singapore, the name is BNI More. In the future we are also preparing for cooperation with local fintech in other countries. So it will be very easy, cheap, and very fast for the time needed for remittances," he continued.
Diaspora Saving
Lastly, BNI offers the Diaspora Saving product, which is a facility for saving needs for Indonesian citizens (WNI) who live overseas. Diaspora can open BNI savings through BNI Mobile Banking application, so they don't need to visit BNI's overseas branch offices (KCLN).
For your information, BNI is one of the banks that focuses on working on international business, and is a mainstay of the diaspora. By the end of 2021, the overseas branch portfolio reached US$ 6.3 billion or around Rp 90 trillion.
Legendariah said the portfolio figure contributed 10% of BNI's total assets as a whole. This portfolio is recorded in 6 BNI branches overseas which embrace a customer base, most of which are companies belonging to Indonesian diaspora.
“Most of them are Indonesian companies that have branches abroad, or overseas buyers or sellers who are Indonesian related. Last year we started targeting a wider range, for example importers or distributors of Indonesian products, trading houses, to culinary entrepreneurs," he explained.
This effort is supported by the presence of the BNI Xpora platform to bridge the exporter community in Indonesia with the diaspora overseas, as well as develop the commercial and MSME segment companies to become established exporters.
"The way BNI provides support starts from training, to mentoring. We also work with many institutions to raise this class of exporters, including helping them penetrate the global market. That's the goal of BNI Xpora, so that we can synergize the potential in the country with access overseas markets," he said.
Indonesia Spice Up the World
By partnering with the commercial and MSME segments, BNI also contributes to a government program called Indonesia Spice-Up the World, which is a program to add 4,000 Indonesian-style restaurants abroad. BNI's support is provided by providing facilities for entrepreneurs who need flexible financing schemes, competitive interest rates, and remain in compliance with the relevant country regulations. (*)