BANKING - Indonesia Bank Kesawan says QNB to take 82 pct stake

PT Bank Kesawan , a small Indonesian lender, said on Thursday it plans to raise 730 billion rupiah ($81.72 million) in a rights issue which would lead to Qatar National Bank taking a controlling stake.

Gatot Siswoyo, Bank Kesawan’s chief executive officer, told Reuters that QNB would be the standby buyer for the rights offering and would end up with an 82 percent stake in the Indonesian lender.

“We expect to get regulator and shareholders approval by December,” Siswoyo said, adding that QNB is committed to injecting more capital after the offering so that Kesawan can expand its lending to small and medium-sized businesses.

BANKING - Qatar National May Become Holder in Bank Kesawan

Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Qatar National Bank SAQ, the Persian Gulf country's biggest lender by assets, may become the controlling shareholder of PT Bank Kesawan after a planned rights offering by the Indonesian lender.

The banks signed a "letter of intent" which makes the Qatari lender the "standby buyer" for the offer, Doha-based Qatar National said in an e-mailed statement today. The offer is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011.

"The Letter of Intent with Bank Kesawan supports QNB's international expansion plans, which in recent years have become an integral part of the Bank's growth strategy and commitment to diversify the sources of its revenue," Qatar National said in the statement.