FINANCE - KUR - BNI announces micro loans for migrant workers

Indonesia’s fourth-largest lender by assets, state-owned bank Bank BNI, is eyeing Indonesian migrant workers overseas as a new market for its micro loan product, KUR.

Such workers employed at oil palm plantations in Malaysia were among the bank’s main targets for the product, BNI’s general manager for micro loans, Slamet Djumantoro, said Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com.

“BNI prefers formal sector workers because they are less vulnerable to the condition of the host countries,” he said.

Slamet said that to be eligible for a KUR loan, the workers needed to have secured a job order from an employer, which was then expected to deposit funds to BNI.

Ronny Venir, deputy manager of the bank’s micro loans division, said so far BNI had disbursed Rp 2 billion (approximately US$222,000) to migrant workers from the East Java town of Kediri.

In mid-December, the government launched the KUR program for Indonesian migrant workers overseas aimed at supporting their foreign employment and empowering them upon their return home.

Local banks are expected to take part in the program.

Source : http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/01/05/bni-announces-micro-loans-migrant-workers.html - Jan 5, 2011