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14 August 2008

BI RATE INCREASES 25 BPS TO 9%

The Meeting of the Board of Governors (Rapat Dewan Gubernur - RDG) of Bank Indonesia on 5th August 2008 has decided raise BI Rate by 25 bps to 9.0%. This decision was aimed at securing the stability of Indonesian economy and financial system, particularly to support the achievement of mid-term inflation.

"Bank Indonesia still foresees the risk of pressure on inflation from the movements of the world oil and food prices, as well as domestic demand", BI Governor Boediono announced after the Meeting. The perceivably high risk against inflation was a key factor of BI's decision to raise BI Rate this month. However, the impact of fuel price increase on inflation has declined significantly. In order to make monetary policy more effective, other monetary instruments such as the control over exchange rate volatility and the absorption of excess liquidity through Open Market Operations (OMO) were utilized alongside the strategy to raise BI Rate. With this integrated strategy, BI expects that the inflation target in the range of 6.5% -7.5% for 2009 will be achieved.

BI Rate increase of 25 bps in August 2008 is predicted not to cause any major disruption to Indonesian economy as various indicators indicate strong domestic demand. The banking industry remains strong and is supported by the good ability to conduct intermediary function. Banks lending still grew by 31.6% (yoy), with gross NPL ratio fell to 4.08%. Additionaly, the sales of motor vehicles and cement are still soaring. Indonesian economy in 2008 is predicted to continue to grow, with contributing factors such as considerably high export growth, public consumption and government spending. Domestic demand will also be supported by higher regional government spending and the preparation of general election of 2009.

The monthly inflation in July 2008 was recorded at 1.37%, driving annual inflation to 11.90% - representing an increase from 11.03% of the previous month. This has led to January-July 2008 inflation to reach 8.85%, much higher than the inflation of the same period in the previous year (2.72%). Taking into account a number of risk and inflation factors predicted to arise until end-of-year, Bank Indonesia has forecasted that CPI inflation at the end of 2008 will fall in the range of 11.5% -12.5% (yoy). Meanwhile, Indonesian Balance of Payments is forecasted to improve and result is good exchange rate stability. Foreign currency reserves as of the end of July 2008 were recorded USD60.56 billion, or equivalent to 4.7 months of imports and the Government's foreign debt payments.

The Board of Governors will continue to evaluate the prospect of economic and inflation development using the latest information in order to execute the best monetary policies going forward.

(FDT: BI Press Release on http://www.bi.go.id/web/id/Ruang+Media/Siaran+Pers/sp_103808.htm)

For further information please contact:

PT Bank BTPN Tbk
Andrie Darusman – Communications & Daya Head
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Bank BTPN in brief

PT Bank BTPN Tbk (Bank BTPN) is a foreign exchange bank and is a merger between PT Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional Tbk (BTPN) and PT Bank Sumitomo Mitsui Indonesia (SMBCI) in February 2019. Bank BTPN serves various segments in the banking industry, from retail to corporate customers, including retirees, micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) and productive underprivileged communities; the consuming class segment; and the corporate segment. Bank BTPN provides the services through business units, such as BTPN Sinaya—a business unit for wealth management, BTPN Purna Bakti—a business serving retirees, BTPN Micro Business—a business unit serving microbusinesses, BTPN Business Banking—a business serving small- and medium-sized enterprises, Jenius—a digital banking platform serving the consuming class segment, and the corporate business unit, which serves national, multinational, and Japanese companies. Bank BTPN also has a subsidiary, namely PT Bank BTPN Syariah Tbk, which focuses on serving productive underprivileged customers. Bank BTPN also regularly provides training sessions and information for customers through the Daya Program—a sustainable and measurable empowerment program—to improve customers’ capacity so they can grow and have a chance to live better.