Will BSI Become a State-Owned Bank? This is Erick Thohir's Response

Dream - Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir responded to the news that Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk (BSI) is said to become a state-owned enterprise. Erick refused to comment much, but emphasized that the government has a share in BSI. 

"BSI already has red and white shares, right?" said Erick at the DPR building complex, quoted from Liputan6.com, Wednesday, September 21, 2022.

The government already has one share in BSI. The rest of the BSI shares are held by the State-Owned Banks Association (Himbara), namely Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), and Mandiri.

This one share is considered a requirement that can give the impression that the government has control over BSI, in addition to the shares from the three state-owned banks.

For information, Bank Mandiri holds 50.83 percent of shares, BNI 24.85 percent, BRI 17.25 percent, and other shareholders, including the public, hold 7.08 percent.

BSI Rights Issue of 6 Billion Shares Will Drive Cheaper Financing Products

Dream - PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk's (BSI) plan to increase capital through the issuance of 6 billion new shares (rights issue) is considered to expand the company's business. For consumers, this corporate action will also drive financing products to become cheaper for customers.

This assessment was conveyed by Islamic economy researcher at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), Fauziah Rizki Yuniarti, in a written statement on Sunday, August 21, 2022.

According to Fauziah, the addition of capital will make BSI have a broader business. This bank with the code BRIS will also find it easier to obtain cheap funds.

"The impact on consumers, because they have many cheap funds, they can make financing products cheaper. Consumers will benefit if the bank becomes book IV," she said.

Quoting the information disclosure submitted on August 16, 2022, the corporate action plan in the form of Preemptive Rights (HMETD) I will be held in Q4-2022. BSI will issue 6 billion Series B shares with a nominal value of Rp500 per share.

BSI's Director of Finance & Strategy, Ade Cahyo Nugroho, explained that this rights issue corporate action is carried out to support BSI's organic and inorganic growth expansion. The company has projected financing growth with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) above 15% until 2025.

“To support this plan, BSI needs additional capital (equity) so that the company's Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) can reach above 20% by the end of 2025,” said Cahyo.

Currently, BSI's CAR position is around 17 percent, in line with the average CAR of the top 10 national banks.

According to Fauziah, BSI's business potential is still very wide, as seen from the low number of Indonesians who have bank accounts. This market niche is huge and has not been optimized by existing banks.

One year after the merger, BSI has shown positive performance, both in terms of assets and profit generation. As of December 2021, the bank's net profit increased by 38.42 percent annually (yoy) to Rp3.03 trillion. During the same period, BSI's assets also increased by 10.73 percent yoy to Rp265.29 trillion. This was supported by financing disbursements amounting to Rp171.29 trillion, an increase of approximately 9.32 percent yoy.

The latest data until Q1/2022, BSI achieved positive results by recording a net profit of Rp987.68 billion, an increase of 33.18 percent yoy. BSI was also able to record financing disbursements of Rp177.51 trillion, a growth of 11.59 percent yoy.

This achievement is also supported by healthy financing with a net non-performing financing (NPF) ratio of 0.90 percent. In terms of assets, BSI is currently ranked seventh nationally and is the largest Islamic bank in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Samuel Sekuritas Indonesia's Head of Research, Suria Dharma, suspects that the funds from the rights issue will be used to acquire the sharia business unit (UUS) of PT Bank Tabungan Negara (Persero) Tbk.

Previously, BSI's plan to acquire BTN Sharia emerged following a statement by Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir earlier this year. He hopes that BTN's UUS will strengthen BSI's position and increase its capacity. This consolidation is part of the government's vision to continue strengthening the economy and Islamic banking through BSI.

Thus, BSI can expand and strengthen its position in terms of market capitalization.