PT Elang Mahkota Teknologi Tbk (IDX: EMTK) through its subsidiary PT Elang Media Visitama (EMV) has announced the participation of Grab and Singtel as strategic investors in PT Bank Fama International (FAMA). Both companies acquired 16.26 per cent of shares in Bank Fama.

Based on documents filed to Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI), Grab Holdings Limited (Grab) and Singtel Telecommunications Limited have invested in Bank Fama through Singtel Alpha Investments Pte. Ltd.

Both companies agreed to acquire 2.35 billion of new shares in Bank Fama or equal to 16.26 per cent of capital.

Following the issuance of these new shares, EMV’s ownership in Bank Fama changes to 62.76 per cent, PT Nusantara Berkat Agung owns 4.72 per cent, while Grab and Singtel own 16.26 per cent.

“This strategic investment is part of the effort to accelerate and develop the business and digital ecosystem of Bank Fama,” the company stated in a BEI filing.

Previously, EMTEK has acquired nine billion shares in Bank Fama or 93 per cent of all capital invested; this action was completed in December 2021.

Headquartered in Bandung and founded in 1993 with IDR10 billion (US$698,000) in the capital, Bank Fama has a network of online branches in Bandung, Jakarta, and Tangerang with a focus on the retail segment, particularly SMEs. By December 2020, Bank Fama has IDR1 trillion (US$69 million) in main capital.

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The involvement of Grab in digital bank

Grab has an interesting history prior to its involvement as a strategic investor in EMTEK’s digital bank. Especially if we look at the journey of these two companies, we can see that Grab is not a new name for EMTEK.

Last year, EMTEK invested IDR5.44 trillion in PT Grab Teknologi Indonesia or Grab Indonesia as a token of synergy between the two companies. By June 2021, EMTEK has scored 5.88 per cent of shares in Grab Indonesia.

Recently, Grab and Bukalapak participated in a rights issue for Allo Bank, a digital bank belonging to conglomerate Chairul Tanjung. Bukalapak now has 11.49 per cent of shares in Allo Bank.

As it is already widely known, PT Bukalapak.com Tbk (IDX: BUKA) is associated with PT Kreatif Media Karya (KMK), an EMTEK subsidiary in the media and digital sector. By March 31, 2021, EMTEK owns 34.88 per cent of shares in Bukalapak through KMK.

The affiliation between EMTEK, Grab, and Bukalapak revealed a strong link of the product ecosystem amongst digital banks in Indonesia, especial in the matters of providing financial services.

Grab’s participation also strengthened reports about an attempt to strengthen a digital ecosystem that consists of the elements of commerce, online-to-offline (O2O), and digital payments in Bank Fama. Grab itself already owns an ecosystem of various services that can seamlessly integrate with Bank Fama’s ecosystem.

However, Bukalapak’s entry into the digital banking space through Allo Bank represents a different approach. Bukalapak is known to have been pushing the reach out Buka Mitra business line to SMEs outside of Jakarta. Buka Mitra plays a key role in the growth performance of Bukalapak. Its involvement in Allo Bank also enables the company to reach out to more business players.

We should not dismiss the potential of greater collaboration between Bank Fama and Allo Bank.

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The article was written in Bahasa Indonesia by Corry Anestia for DailySocial. English translation and editing by e27.

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