State Bank of India?s overseas shopping spree continues as the country?s largest public sector lender wants to buy another Indonesian bank. Not just SBI, some other Indian banks, too, are eyeing Indonesian banks. This is according to Muliaman D Hadad, deputy governor of Bank Indonesia.

?Some of the big Indian banks are already in Indonesia to buy banks. SBI and a couple of others are also keen on buying banks in Indonesia.

ICICI, for example, has worked very closely with Indonesian banks and has bought banks there,? he told FE in an exclusive interview.

The Indonesian economy is based largely on banking that holds nearly 85% of the total financial sector assets. There are 130 commercial banks in Indonesia with around 7,000 branches. Hadad did not divulge the names of other Indian banks that are planning acquisitions in Indonesia.

In its quest for overseas assets, SBI acquired a controlling stake in PT Bank IndoMonex, registered in Jakarta, in 2005. The same year, it bought 51% stake in Mauritius? Indian Ocean International Bank for $10 million. This bank had a network of 10 branches and 10 ATMs at the time of the buy-out.

This was followed with the acquisition of 76% stake in closely held Giro Commercial Bank of Kenya for about $7 million in October 2005.

More acquisitions in Indonesia would expectedly increase SBI?s presence in the Asean region. It is also vital for SBI?s strategy to become a global bank. The finance ministry, too, wants SBI to become a large global bank with presence in top international markets.

The bank has opened branches in China, Saudi Arabia, Israel and plans to expand operations in Singapore, the US and Europe.

SBI?s share closed 0.68% higher at Rs 2,410.55 on the Bombay Stock Excange on Friday.

Hadad, who has worked with the Indonesian central bank for almost two decades, said his country was not opposed to Indian companies buying banks in Indonesia. There were many banks that could be potential acquisition targets, he said.

Nearly ten decades after it recovered from the East Asian financial crisis, Indonesia today is one of most open economies. For instance, foreign ownership of Indonesian banks had jumped dramatically over the past few years to 40% now, Hadad said.

?Not just in the banking sector, there are also opportunities in the Indonesian financial sector as a whole.?