With its large presence in 18 Asian markets and some of the global finance industry’s highest credit ratings, it’s no wonder DBS Bank continues to dominate – and thrive in – Indonesia’s banking market.
The Singaporean giant saw private banking revenues in Indonesia surge 20% year on year in 2020. Assets under management rose 4% last year, even as wave after wave of Covid-19 infections hit the economy.
This might sound ironic as DBS’s myriad “Safest Bank in Asia” awards collide with the economic cacophony that is Indonesia. Of course, investors don’t tend to get wealthy betting against DBS, whose wealth management franchise – representing 20% of banking group income – saw broader AUM grow 7% to about $200 billion.
But the private banking team, overseen by group head Joseph Poon, is making a particular go in Indonesia.
It helps that there’s such a close and robust relationship with Singapore in areas such as education and medical treatments for high net worth clients, says Keng Swee Koh, DBS’s regional head of investment product and advisory. But Indonesia’s scale also means finding opportunities in the country is a no-brainer as the nation progresses toward becoming a global economic powerhouse.
Already,