WeLab has announced the completion of the acquisition of an Indonesian commercial bank, PT Bank Jasa Jakarta (BJJ), together with PT Astra International Tbk (Astra), one of Indonesia’s largest public companies.
The Financial Services Authority (OJK) has issued acquisition permission, signaling the end of the process. A WeLab-led consortium, Welab Sky Limited (WeLab Sky), along with Astra’s subsidiary PT Sedaya Multi Investama, involved in this transaction (Astra Financial). Existing and new investors have backed the WeLab-led consortium, including Allianz X, Boyu Capital, Horizons Ventures, SCBX Group[1,] and TFB (Taipei Fubon Bank) Capital.
WeLab executed a strategic investment for 24 percent of BJJ in December 2021 by entering into a Share Purchase and Subscription Agreement with the shareholders of BJJ. WeLab and Astra now hold 49.56 percent of BJJ shares, making them the bank’s majority shareholders and joint controllers. In 2022, the acquisition will be Southeast Asia’s largest digital bank M&A transaction, demonstrating the significant commitment to engage in and contribute to the digitization of Indonesia’s banking industry. BJJ will be transformed into an innovative digital bank in Indonesia, according to the shareholders.
Propel growth and digital innovation with strong synergies between Astra and WeLab
WeLab and Astra have been partners in Indonesia’s fintech sector for a long time. This is WeLab’s second strategic relationship with Astra, following the launch of a fintech lending joint venture, PT Astra WeLab Digital Arta (AWDA), in 2018. The complementary strengths of the partners, including WeLab’s know-how and technology in building and operating in digital banking, as well as Astra’s solid business ecosystem and experience, as well as its vast distribution network, are highly synergistic and key success factors in propelling BJJ’s digital transformation and into an innovative digital bank to serve Indonesians’ digital financial needs with accessible and innovative banking solutions.
Address unmet financial needs and advocate financial inclusion
The prospect of digital banking in Indonesia is currently on the increase, representing a significant opportunity to deliver accessible and innovative digital banking solutions, particularly to the retail and MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) segments. The use of financial services in Indonesia has the potential to develop, as 77 percent of the country’s 270 million inhabitants are either underbanked or unbanked. In addition, the country has a huge population of 180 million tech-savvy younger consumers, indicating a high need for digital banking services.
