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Category: Finance

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Finance news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Worldpay research uncovers an elite club of shopaholics in APAC with enormous spending power

    Worldpay research uncovers an elite club of shopaholics in APAC with enormous spending power

    A global survey of 20,000 consumers by Worldpay has discovered that buying power in the internet age is highly concentrated within a group of high spending, high frequency Super-Shoppers. In China, Super-Shoppers make up just 5% of the general population yet accounted for an incredible 92% of all the money spent buying physical goods online in China each month. Worldpay’s research into three Asia Pacific markets further reveals that APAC Super-Shoppers are some of the most likely to shop online via a mobile device and some of the most demanding when it comes to payment method.

    Worldpay polled 2,000 consumers in each of the 10 countries covered by the Why Do They Pay That Way? Study including China, Japan and Australia. Key findings include:

    1. Chinese Super-Shoppers are more likely to use a credit or debit card than the average Chinese shopper.
    2. More than 60% of Japan’s online shoppers will switch to another retailer if they can’t use their preferred payment option at checkout.
    3. Australian Super-Shoppers were the world’s second biggest buyers, spending on average more than £200 (US$260[1]) during their last online transaction.
    4. The Chinese are the biggest mobile shoppers in the world, with 33% of Super-Shoppers making their last online purchase via a mobile phone.
    5. Australian Super-Shoppers had the second highest levels of mobile shopping (19%).

    Phil Pomford, General Manager Asia Pacific, Global eCommerce at Worldpay, said: “With ecommerce markets developing at lightning speed across the Asia Pacific region, it’s no surprise that elite shoppers are taking their spending power online. The Super-Shopper trend is driven by a growing middle class, high mobile penetration and recent advancements in consumer technology. APAC Super-Shoppers are passionate about what they buy and sophisticated in how they shop. They do research to find the most competitive prices, and will turn elsewhere if they discover they can’t use their preferred payment method at checkout.”

    Around the world, 36% of Super-Shoppers said they had experienced the situation of reaching checkout and being unable to pay with any of the listed payment options. This was particularly the case in China, where 44% of Super-Shoppers said they were unable to make purchases using their preferred payment method.

    When faced with not being able to use their preferred payment option, Super-Shoppers may buy the same item from another website or abandon their purchase all together. A staggering 61% of Japanese Super-Shoppers said they would switch to another retailer if unable to use their preferred payment option at checkout. Worldpay estimates that for each lost sale globally, retailers are missing out on as much as £100 (US$130) – representing a significant amount of lost revenue from such frequent and high value shoppers.

    Super-Shoppers in APAC, as around the globe, overwhelmingly preferred credit cards, even in markets where card use is low. Although 41% of the general population in China prefer to pay online with Alipay, only 18% of China’s Super-Shoppers said they were likely to use their nation’s most popular eWallet. Instead, 54% of Chinese Super-Shoppers said they preferred to pay with a credit card.

    Pomford added: “Retailers should be looking at Super-Shoppers as a distinct group that often behaves very differently from other customers. In APAC, Super-Shoppers prefer credit cards even where these cards have little or no traction among the general population. Therefore, a retailer who doesn’t support the right range of payment methods could actually be losing major revenue without noticing.

    “The Super-Shopper phenomenon gives retailers much food for thought – in terms of not only what payment options are available, but in how to merchandise to these consumers to maximise basket size, or market to an audience who thinks of online shopping as a daily task, not just as an occasional treat. With so much buying power concentrated in this group in APAC and around the world, it’s essential that retailers innovate in such a way that they deliver what Super-Shoppers want, when they want it and let them pay for it in the way that suits them best.”

    APAC Super-Shoppers’ most frequent purchases vary from country to country. According to the Worldpay research:

    1. One in 5 (21%) Australian Super-Shoppers buy groceries online – 8% above the global average.
    2. 2. Australian Super-Shoppers are less likely to buy clothes online (21%) than the global average (28%) yet more likely to buy health and beauty products (15% vs global average of 10%).
    3. China leads the world in online meal purchases, with 13% of Chinese Super-Shoppers taking to the internet when they want to order a takeaway.
    4. Super-Shoppers in China also love fashion, with 40% of them buying clothes the last time they shopped online, compared to the global average of 28%.
    5. In Japan, Super-Shoppers are most likely to buy electronics (30%) and groceries (28%).
  • First JCB card in Myanmar Introduced by Ayeyarwady Bank

    First JCB card in Myanmar Introduced by Ayeyarwady Bank

    Ayeyarwady Bank (AYA Bank), a major commercial bank in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Myanmar), Myanmar Payment Union Public Co.,Ltd (MPU), and JCB International Co. Ltd. (JCBI), the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd., today announced that AYA Bank has launched the first JCB credit and debit card as AYA Universal MPU-JCB Co-Brand cards in Myanmar. Myanmar is the 4th country in the Mekong region where JCB cards are issued, along with Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.

    The Universal AYA MPU-JCB Co-Brand Card combines the MPU brand and JCB brand. Cardmembers can use MPU’s nation-wide merchant network in Myanmar and JCB’s international merchant network with over 31 million locations globally.

    The card has 4 different kinds of product, Universal Platinum credit card, Universal Gold credit card, Universal Silver credit card, and Universal debit card. All the cardmembers can enjoy JCB privileges such as JCB Plaza, and special offers at selected merchants all over the world. JCB offers Platinum cardmembers exclusive JCB Platinum services, such as JCB Platinum airport lounge service, JCB Platinum Concierge Desk, and Special JCB Platinum Hotel Services.

    U Zaw Zaw, Founder and Chairman of AYA Bank commented, “The bank has always been committed to providing our customers higher quality service and experience. This co-brand arrangement will enable cardholders to have more flexible options for their payments in foreign countries. This is another milestone in Myanmar card payment market, to promote the country’s transition to a cashless economy.”

    Kimihisa Imada, Deputy President of JCB International said, “Myanmar is an important market for JCBI. With its growing economy and population, Myanmar has great potential for growth in the card payment market. With the start of JCB card issuing in Myanmar, cardmembers can have a new choice of payment and experience the convenience of shopping abroad with JCB’s worldwide merchant network.”

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  • Worldpay expanding to Australia

    Worldpay expanding to Australia

    The company’s expansion in Australia comes at a time of sustained growth for Worldpay, which processed 13.1 billion transactions in 2015 with transaction value of £401.9 billion ($518.9 billion).

    A number of global companies, including ASOS, Expedia, Cathay Pacific Airlines, Digital World International and Freelancer already use Worldpay for payment processing in Australia, due primarily to the company’s international reach, as well as its ability to process a wide range of alternative payment methods such as eWallets and bank transfers.

    Australian e-commerce accounted for an estimated $42 billion of the country’s GDP in 2015, and the country’s consumers lead the world in terms of eWallet adoption, which is favoured by 21% of shoppers buying goods online.

    Shane Happach, Managing Director, Global eCommerce at Worldpay concluded: “We are delighted to extend our services into Australia, which is a tremendously exciting market with lots of growth opportunity,” Worldpay managing director for global e-commerce Shane Hapach said.

    “We have quickly found merchants trading in Australia are hungry for a payment solution that can help them drive up conversion rates and drive down the costs of running an online business across multiple markets.”

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  • Asian stocks mostly up despite weak economic news from China

    Asian stocks mostly up despite weak economic news from China

    Asian shares traded in positive territory Tuesday as gains in commodity stocks helped offset weakness overnight in U.S. markets.

    The Nikkei Stock Average NIK, +0.69% rose 0.2% with the S&P/ASX 200 XJO, +0.27% up 0.2% and Korea’s Kospi SEU, +0.62% up 0.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI,-0.28% was down 0.1% while the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.65% was flat.

    Traders sent U.S. oil prices up 2.9% to $43.02 a barrel following news that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries planned to hold informal talks in September that could lead to production cuts.

  • Bursa Malaysia opens slightly higher

    Bursa Malaysia opens slightly higher

    Bursa Malaysia opened slightly higher on Tuesday, extending yesterday’s gains but mild profit-taking in selected heavyweights limited the gains, dealers said.

    At 9.10am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.40 point better at 1,673.08, after opening 1.84 points higher at 1,674.49.

    Gainers outpaced decliners 148 to 64, while 193 counters were unchanged, 1,281 untraded and 26 others suspended.

    Turnover stood at 119.87 million shares worth RM45.70 million.

    In a research note today, RHB Retail Research maintained its bearish short-term outlook for the index, saying buying interest was still weak.

    “The index has not climbed above the recent high of the 1,675.50-point resistance mentioned since two weeks ago.

    “On a technical basis, as long as the bearishness of July 21’s ‘Tower Top’ pattern is not negated, we believe that the sellers still have control of the market,” it said.

    The FBM Emas Index rose 4.97 points to 11,741.69 and the FBMT 100 Index was up 3.61 points at 11,440.04.

    The FBM Emas Syariah Index increased 17.87 points to 12,373.70, the FBM 70 rose 7.46 points to 13,466.39 but the FBM Ace slipped 14.89 points to 5,469.39.

    Sector-wise, the Industrial Index gained 10.13 points to 3,160.24, the Plantation Index rose 6.63 points to 7,680.66 but the Finance Index was 11.95 points lower at 14,335.64.

    Among heavyweights, TNB, Maybank and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM14.58, RM7.98 and RM6.59 respectively, while Public Bank shed two sen to RM19.62.

    Of the actives, MBSB and PDZ Holdings advanced one sen each to 93 sen and 9.5 sen respectively, Konsortium Transnasional went up two sen to 18 sen while Vivocom Intl was flat at 29 sen.

    The physical price of gold as at 9.30am stood at RM167.34 per gramme, up 21 sen from RM167.13 at 5pm yesterday.

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  • Bank Mandiri to grow Malaysian operations

    Bank Mandiri to grow Malaysian operations

    PT Bank Mandiri Tbk, Indonesia’s largest bank by assets, could soon operate here with full banking rights.

    The move comes after financial authorities from Indonesia and Malaysia signed a bilateral agreement earlier this week, allowing greater access to lenders from both countries to fully operate in the respective jurisdictions.

    Bank Mandiri would pay RM100mil (US$24.6mil) to Malaysia’s central bank as soon as possible and meet the capital requirement of RM300mil by the end of this year so that it could operate soon after the permit is issued by Bank Negara.

    Bank Mandiri currently operates in Malaysia under the licence of remittance office. It has five remittance offices in the country that focus on revenue generated from Indonesians working here.

    Papers in Jakarta reported that the bank planned to immediately apply for a full licence in Malaysia, following the bilateral agreement.

    To recap, the Malaysian authorities had issued a commercial banking licence to five foreign banks, including Bank Mandiri, in 2009-2010 in line with the country’s liberalisation of the financial services sector. Apart form Bank Mandiri, the other recipients were Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp of Japan, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and BNP Paribas SA, France, and Mizuho Corporate Bank.

    However, Bank Mandiri’s expansion into the Malaysian market had met with little success because the requirements for the full banking status set by Bank Negara were “too restrictive”, reports had indicated. It was previously quoted as saying that Bank Negara had not responded to its requests for a degree of leeway.

    Foreign banks, under Bank Negara’s funding guidelines, must have a minimum capital, unimpaired by losses, of RM300mil.

    Based on earlier Indonesian news reports, Bank Mandiri was adamant that the amount be lowered to RM100mil.

    The reports also stated that Bank Mandiri was not too happy with the other conditions set by Bank Negara, which included the number of branches and automated teller machines allowed to be opened by foreign banks.

    A main complaint among Bank Mandiri and other Indonesian lenders wanting to open their branches in Malaysia is the “inequality of access” in the two markets. The Indonesian Government had been demanding Malaysia reciprocate the banking freedom its banks enjoy in Indonesia.

    Two Malaysian banks that had established a significant presence in Indonesia are CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank).

    CIMB Group owns 97.9% of PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk, which is Indonesia’s fifth-largest bank by assets. Maybank, meanwhile, operates in Indonesia via 80%-owned PT Bank Maybank Indonesia Tbk.

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  • Bitcoin plunges after Hong Kong exchange hacked

    Bitcoin plunges after Hong Kong exchange hacked

    The digital currency Bitcoin plunged Wednesday after Bitfinex, an exchange based in Hong Kong, said it had been hacked and funds stolen.

    The exchange said it had halted trading, deposits and withdrawals while it investigated which users had been affected. Bitcoin’s trading value fell about 20 percent early Wednesday, local time in Hong Kong, but had recovered about half the loss by afternoon.

    Zane Tackett, Bitfinex’s director of community and product development, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But he said in a posting on Reddit that 119,756 Bitcoins had been stolen.

    Before the hacking was made public, that number of Bitcoins would have been worth about $72 million. Now that the currency has slumped, the figure is closer to $65 million. The exchange, one of the world’s largest, said in a blog post that any outstanding settlements would be made at the price before the hacking.

    “As we account for individualized customer losses, we may need to settle open margin positions, associated financing, and/or collateral affected by the breach,” Bitfinex said in the post.

    Local Business

    It added that customers’ losses would be addressed later.

    Security breaches of this type have raised questions about the viability of Bitcoin. The most notable episode was the collapse in 2014 of Mt. Gox, an exchange based in Tokyo, in which hundreds of thousands of Bitcoins were stolen in a heist that experts and law enforcement officials are still trying to unravel. This past June, a hacker stole more than $50 million worth of Ether, another digital currency, from an experimental virtual currency project called the Decentralized Autonomous Organization.

    Jack Liu, chief strategy officer at OKCoin, a large digital currency exchange, said he was not concerned about the security of his company because it uses a different system. But he noted that there should be more discussion between exchanges over best practices.

    “We care about the health of the ecosystem,” he said, although he emphasized that nobody should be dictating how Bitcoins are secured. “Hackers are only getting better, and so adoption of the same solution may not be the safest for the industry.”

    Although some view Bitcoin as the future of finance, allowing for faster and cheaper transactions, the Bitcoin community has been rived with infighting over the development of the technology. The blockchain ledger, part of the coding that underlies the currency, has also gained more mainstream traction, as banks see an opportunity to use the technology to speed up trades.

    Bitfinex said the theft had been reported to law enforcement.

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  • ‘Bilateral agreement will give players greater banking access’

    ‘Bilateral agreement will give players greater banking access’

    Top Malaysian financial players with a presence in Indonesia lauded the bilateral agreement between Indonesia and Malaysia, saying it will pave the way for greater access to conventional and Islamic banking. CIMB Group chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz said the agreement is positive for the banking industry of both countries. “It is an additional impetus for CIMB Group to expand its business in Indonesia, particularly in the Islamic and consumer segments, where there are a lot of growth opportunities, given Indonesia’s 260 million population.

    “We also view the agreement between Indonesia and Malaysia as an important step towards better Asean economic integration, paving the way for CIMB to continue delivering its universal banking proposition for customers in the region.” Bank Negara Malaysia and Otoritas Jasa Keuangan of Indonesia have signed the agreement which will provide more access and operational flexibility for Malaysian and Indonesian Qualified Asean Banks operating in the respective jurisdictions. The agreement permits the formation of three banking groups that meet stipulated criteria to be classified as one of the Qualified Asean Banks, which would be afforded equal treatment as local lenders.

    CIMB is eyeing further growth in its banking franchise. Its subsidiary, CIMB Niaga, is ranked as one of the top five banks in Indonesia by asset size, with a current customer base of 3.6 million. It recently posted strong first-half results. RHB Banking Group said a commercial banking presence in Indonesia remains a priority in its overseas expansion plan, adding that it will complement its existing business in the country. “From a merger and acquisition aspect, we will keep an opportunistic mind to ensure the right time, price and strategic fit into our overall group strategy to deliver better value to stakeholders,” said group chief strategy and transformation officer Christopher Loh. Islamic finance is a significant area of potential growth in the world’s most populous Muslim nation, he pointed out.

    “Malaysia, being at the forefront of Islamic finance, could provide expertise to grow this sector, which spells an opportunity for Indonesia as the government aims to deepen the country’s Islamic banking sector. ” RHB has about 14 branches across Indonesia dealing with securities and asset management business. Affin Hwang Capital banking analyst Loh Jia Ying said one more banking licence is available for Malaysian banks to expand into Indonesia, adding that it is also possible that the central bank of Indonesia may allow the Malaysian bank to acquire one of the Indonesian banks. On the impact of the agreement, he said it would be minimal in the near term for Maybank Indonesia, CIMB Niaga and the Indonesian banking sector.

    As for state-owned Bank Mandiri’s keen interest to expand in Malaysia, Loh said although the bank may have the advantage of familiarity for Indonesians here, its profitability may be limited if it focuses only on Indonesian workers, unless there is a significant change in their behavioural patterns. Bank Mandiri, the largest Indonesian bank by assets, currently has five remittance offices in Malaysia, and focuses on the revenue generated from Indonesians working here. It will also have to undertake significant work to generate more revenue from the Indonesian workers and will be limited by the smaller number of branches.

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  • AXA, Alibaba, Ant Financial enter global partnership

    AXA, Alibaba, Ant Financial enter global partnership

    AXA, Alibaba and Ant Financial Services have agreed jointly explore opportunities to distribute AXA’s insurance products and services through Alibaba’s global e-commerce ecosystem.

    The deal is expected to benefit the businesses and consumers that transact via Alibaba’s marketplaces. The companies will work together to co-innovate and to develop value-added products and services to customers around the world and mutually support each other in developing and exploring new markets and segments.

    The first phase of the collaboration will see AXA develop various insurance products for users of AliExpress, Alibaba’s wholesale marketplaces and Ant Financial Services.

    AliExpress is a global retail marketplace targeted at consumers worldwide. AXA will develop and provide insurance products for AliExpress’ global customers, including extended warranties for repairs and/or damaged goods and enhanced online payment protection.

    On Alibaba’s wholesale marketplaces (Alibaba.com,1688.com), AXA will provide insurance products to small and medium businesses globally who are trading on these platforms.

    AXA will offer travel insurance products for Chinese travelers going overseas through Ant Financial Services, an Alibaba-affiliate.

    These insurance products and services will be developed by AXA’s local entities according to the customers’ local requirements.

    “Our collaboration with industry-leader AXA is a key part of Alibaba’s globalization strategy and our vision to enable small businesses and consumers alike to enjoy the convenience and benefits of e-commerce in a safe trading environment,” Alibaba Group president Michael Evans said.

    “As cross-border e-commerce grows rapidly, it is critical that we evolve our services and offerings to the businesses and consumers that conduct trade on our platforms. The collaboration between AXA and Alibaba will enable us to create new solutions and ultimately improve the overall customer experience.”

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  • Would you ever take investment advise from an app?

    Would you ever take investment advise from an app?

    Fintech firm 8 Securities said on Monday it plans to launch Hong Kong’s first so-called robo-investment advisor app in the next quarter, which it is calling “Chloe”, but experts remained divided on whether such an idea will every catch on in the city.

    Asia, and especially Hong Kong, is seen as lagging other international markets on the adoption of robo-advisors.

    Assets held by such robo-advisors in Hong Kong are expected to expand exponentially to US$20.6 billion by 2020 from the current US$400 million, according to a Boston-based research firm Aite Group’s latest robo-advisor forecast.

    The apps are powered by artificial intelligence and machine-learning technologies developed in-house, and effectively learn day by day as a system’s user base and database grows, matching products to customers with different financial needs.

    That’s very different, of course, to what is offered by around 450 local brokers in Hong Kong, who have traded for decades, by offering personalised services based on close relationships, to hold onto clients.

    Mathias Helleu, 8 Securities’ executive chairman and co-founder, expects the Chloe app’s popularity to grow fast thanks to higher mobile penetration and lower entrance levels for users.

    “Chloe users will have the freedom to deposit or withdraw money from their portfolio anytime and with no penalty,” said Helleu. “The minimum investment amount with Chloe will be under HK$1,000.”

    In the West, the fledging robo-advisor industry is growing fast.

    By the end of 2015, US robo-advisor services had US$53 billion in assets under management, up from US$2 billion in 2013, according to statistics from the Aite Group. Key players include both startups such as FutureAdvisor, Bettermont and WealthFront, and big industry names, such as Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

    I do not expect robo-advisor apps to prove attractive in mature markets like Hong Kong. Here, retail investors consider their brokers or wealth managers more reliable

    Benny Mau, chairman of Hong Kong Securities Association

    However, that number of managed assets is still small compared with the US$20 trillion total investable assets by US retail investors.

    Traditional Hong Kong brokers, however, questioned on Monday whether local retail investors, many of whom still like going to bank branches or brokers shops to buy and discuss their investments, will ever use such an app.

    Benny Mau, chairman of Hong Kong Securities Association, the industry body, said: “I do not expect robo-advisor apps to prove attractive in mature markets like Hong Kong. Here, retail investors consider their brokers or wealth managers more reliable [than robo-advisors].”

    chloe app

    Mau also added Hong Kong investors are more rational than in other developing markets and a lot more cautious and selective as to which investment services they use.

    However, he did concede some young investors could find the service appealing.

    But Brett McGonegal, chief executive of Capital Link International, said robo-advisors are sweeping the investment world as they represent the pioneering wave of the fintech revolution.

    “This is critical in addressing the needs of a new investing group around the world — that’s millennials. “Platforms that blend human contact with technology will prove to be very successful amongst the new generation that often feel more comfortable communicating over electronic means rather than face to face,” McGonegal said.

    Jenny Lau, a recent graduate whose basic monthly salary is HK$21,000, said she would try her hand at Chloe because it has no penalty and is convenient to operate on her mobile phone.

    “The minimum investment of under HK$1,000 is no big deal for me,” she added.

    “But it will just be to satisfy my curiosity and I do not expect any high investment returns. I’ll not use it for my life saving goals.”

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  • JCB Launches New Website

    JCB Launches New Website

    JCB , the only international payments brand based in Japan, is pleased to announce that it will launch a new JCB global website on August 3 2016.

    The website has a portal function to link to a wide range of other JCB websites in many countries/territories, and is a new and easy-to-navigate website that offers comprehensive information about JCB corporate, products and services. At the same time as this release, some more new regional websites will also be released for countries and regions where JCB cards are issued, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Russia, in addition to the existing websites for China, Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines and Europe. We will provide attractive contents for all JCB customers.

    Also the JCB global website uses a top level domain*, “.jcb,” based on our concept of universal design that does not rely on languages or countries/territories. This domain is easy to understand and remember for customers, and can only be used by JCB, reducing the risk of counterfeiting or spoofing, and allowing customers to use the websites more safely.

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  • CIMB’s Indonesian unit posts big jump in profit

    CIMB’s Indonesian unit posts big jump in profit

    CIMB Group Holdings Bhd’s 97.9% owned Indonesia-based subsidiary PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk, boosted its unaudited consolidated net profit by 318.2% to 736 billion rupiah (RM228.4mil) for the six-month period ended June 30, 2016 (H1).

    The fifth largest bank in Indonesia by assets said in a statement that the higher net profit, which translated to earnings per share of 29.29 rupiah, was due to a 4.8% rise in net interest income (NII) to 5.81 trillion rupiah (RM1.81bil), a 24.1% jump in non-interest income to 1.46 trillion rupiah (RM453mil) and a 7.9% fall in provision expense.

    Its president director Tigor M. Siahaan said: “Despite the challenging environment, our H1 top line performance continued to improve. The 4.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) NII growth was recorded against a decline in interest expense, while non-interest income was 24.1% higher y-o-y due to better treasury and capital markets businesses.”

    He said CIMB Niaga maintained good control over its operating expenses which fell by 1.2% y-o-y.

    “In addition, the provisions for non-performing loans had gradually improved.”

    As the bank retained a conservative growth strategy, total gross loans were lower y-o-y at 175.34 trillion rupiah (RM54.41bil) as at June 30.

    Despite the slower overall growth in CIMB Niaga’s loans, selected business segments recorded encouraging performance.

    The personal and multipurpose loans business grew 9.2% y-o-y through the bank’s X-tra Dana product, while the credit card segment posted a 25.5% y-o-y growth to 7.18 trillion rupiah (RM2.23bil).

    As at end June 2016, the bank had issued over 2.1 million credit cards, an increase of 13.4% from a year earlier.

    To date, CIMB Niaga is the third largest credit card issuer in Indonesia, in addition to being the fifth largest bank with total assets of 239.38 trillion rupiah (RM74.33bil).

    Its current account savings account (CASA) grew 5.7% y-o-y to 93.21 trillion rupiah as at June 30, with the CASA ratio rising 457 basis points (bps) y-o-y to 51.99%.

    The loan to deposit ratio was higher at 96.54% at end-June 2016 compared to 95.81% in the same period last year.

    The Indonesian government has appointed CIMB Niaga as a perception bank assigned to accommodate funds repatriated by taxpayers who are participating in Indonesia’s tax amnesty programme.

    “With additional liquidity available through the programme, the national banking industry, CIMB Niaga included, will have greater capacity to disburse loans to various sectors,” Tigor said.

    CIMB Niaga’s capital adequacy ratio strengthened y-o-y to 17.62% as at June 30.

    “We will continue to selectively increase our assets with a key focus on cost management and asset quality.

    “We started 2016 on a more positive note and seen the potential of gradual improvement in the second half of the year, backed by numerous macroprudential government fiscal and monetary policies to stimulate sustainable economic growth,” added Tigor.

  • India’s YES BANK taps Gemalto for secure m-payments

    India’s YES BANK taps Gemalto for secure m-payments

    India’s YES BANK has deployed Gemalto technology to secure mobile payment transactions for its customers under India’s recently implemented Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

    YES BANK, India’s fifth largest private sector bank, has adopted Gemalto’s SafeNet Network HSM for the purpose.

    UPI, India’s online payments solution, enables all account holders to send and receive money from their smartphones with a single identifier – such as mobile number or virtual payments address – without entering any bank account information.

    The SafeNet Network HSM (formerly SafeNet Luna SA HSM) provides end-to-end data security and encryption to protect user credential confidentiality and the private keys responsible for digital signing.

    “With a widespread network of over 860+ branches and 1,625+ ATMs Pan India, we’re committed to taking a customer-centric approach to our banking services,” said Anup Purohit, CIO at YES BANK.

    “The Unified Payments Interface offers clients revolutionary convenience when it comes to banking and payments, and we want to ensure the highest levels of security for users of the platform. We’re thrilled to integrate Gemalto’s industry-leading SafeNet HSM technology into the UPI application to support this initiative.”

  • Public Bank to Launch UnionPay Card in Malaysia

    Public Bank to Launch UnionPay Card in Malaysia

    Public Bank, Malaysia’s third largest bank and UnionPay International, a global payment network signed an agreement for UnionPay Debit Card Issuing Business today. With this partnership, Public Bank will be the first local bank to issue UnionPay card in Malaysia by Quarter 4 of year 2016.

    PB UnionPay Lifestyle Debit Card and PB UnionPay Savings Account will be launched to cater to the needs for customers and businessmen who frequently travel to China with the convenience of cards over carrying large amounts of cash.

    UnionPay’s acceptance across 160 countries and its full acceptance in China encourage Malaysian who travels often, expatriates and inbound students and workers from China to take up these bundled products.

    In Malaysia, UnionPay cards issued locally and overseas are accepted at over 90% of ATMs whilst 60% of merchants accept payments by UnionPay cards.

    The agreement was signed between Public Bank’s Managing Director, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Tay Ah Lek and UnionPay International’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Cai Jianbo at Menara Public Bank with the presence of other management staff of Public Bank and officials of UnionPay International.

    Commenting at the launch, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Tay said, “Being the first local bank in Malaysia to launch UnionPay card once again proves that Public Bank is focused in progressing and improving our core retail business to enhance our customers’ banking experience. It is also a great pleasure in partnering with UnionPay International to offer our customers another new payment option.”

    Concurring on the significance of this partnership, Mr Cai Jianbo said, “Malaysia is one of the most important market for UnionPay, with 90% UnionPay card acceptance on ATM, and 60% at POS. This MOU signing with Public Bank Berhad will serve to provide a strong foundation as we continue to localise our business in Malaysia. UnionPay will enable more merchants and increase UnionPay POS acceptance to 90% by end of 2017. We will also issue more cards with local banks, provide more local privileges to improve services and convenience for Cardholders. For innovative payment, we will expedite the launch of e-wallet payments and build an 020 payment ecosystem.”

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  • BCA records profit of Rp9.6 trillion

    BCA records profit of Rp9.6 trillion

    PT Bank Central Asia Tbk. (BCA) made a net profit of Rp9.6 trillion in the first semester of this year, reflecting a growth of 12.1 percent year-on-year, mostly from interest income following the bright growth of corporate credits.

    BCA President Director Jahja Setiaatmadja said here on Wednesday that although domestic economic condition was still in the process of recovering, corporate credits had contributed the highest to the growth reaching 19.6 percent year-on-year or Rp135.4 trillion.

    Commercial and small and medium credits on the other hand have been the biggest portfolio but their growth was only recorded at 6.5 percent or Rp146.5 trillion while consumer credits were up 9.1 percent year-on-year, reaching Rp105.2 trillion.

    “We indeed saw that demand is still slow, but thanks to our efficiency and growth of transaction accounts, the business has registered a boost,” he added.

    In the consumer line, housing credits rose by 8.5 percent to Rp61.7 trillion and motor-vehicle credits were up 11.4 percent to reach Rp34.0 trillion.

    The BCA credits in all segments grew 11.5 percent to Rp387 trillion, year-on-year.

    According to Jahja, the efficiency attained through reduction of cost of funds has contributed to the growth of profit and revenues.

    “Before the monetary easing effected by Bank Indonesia since 2015, we have been able to lower the interest rates of deposits and, in turn, reduce the cost of funds. In February, we also reduced the loan interest,” he explained.

    BCAs operational income in the first semester this year rose 15.5 percent to Rp26.1 trillion while operational burden also increased by 7.3 percent, failing to reach double digits, and touching Rp12.07 trillion.

    The compensation of growth in credit distribution was seen in the hike of non-performing loan ratio to 1.4 percent by the end of June 2016 from 0.7 percent in June last year. Jahja, however, saw the trend of NPL hike would weaken.

    “The NPL is indeed predicted to rise until September but the rise will not be drastic and may have a tendency of slowing seeing the start of improvement in the economy,” he underlined.

    To anticipate problem credits, the BCA has set up an additional reserve fund worth Rp2 trillion. In June, the ratio of the reserve to total problem credits reached 193 percent.

    The BCAs liquidity condition seemed to be easing continuously. Although the credit growth reached double digits, the ratio of funds to lending (LFR) was recorded at only 77.9 percent.

    The LFR position was still below the central banks existing standard, which is at 78 to 92 percent. The newest standard is at 80-92 percent.

    In the first half of this year, the BCA collected Rp490.6 trillion in third-party funds, reflecting a growth of 7.8 percent.

    With the credit achievement and the third party funds, BCA assets in the period were recorded at Rp626.1 trillion.

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