Indonesian tycoon Mochtar Riady, who is widely regarded as a pioneer in Asia's banking and real estate sectors, is bullish on the prospects of his country's banking sector.
The founder of diversified business conglomerate Lippo Group, Riady, said Indonesia is more than able to establish international standard banks, making special mention of Bank Central Asia, one of his successful creations and now one of the country's foremost modern banks.
Riady, at 89 years old one of Indonesia's most renowned bankers, said his motto of «chasing a horse by riding it» had worked well for him during the early days of Indonesia's modern banking industry.
Give Back to the Country
In those times, he established many private banks, including Bank Central Asia, better known by its acronym BCA, and Bank Panin with his business partner Liem Sioe Liong, also known as Sudono Salim the founder of instant noodle maker Indofood.
With Salim, Riady founded BCA in 1975, a bank that now commands the largest market value in the country. When it started off, BCA catered to only one industry, Riady told the Jakarta Globe.
Highly-Principled Bankers
Before founding BCA and serving as its vice president director for 15 years from 1975, Riady began his career in the banking industry when he joined an ailing Bank Kemakmuran in 1959, bringing along five partners to improve its balance sheet.
He later joined Bank Buana in 1964 and worked there for seven years before establishing Bank Panin, now one of the top 10 Indonesian lenders in terms of assets, by merging Bank Kemakmuran, Bank Industri Jaya and Bank Industri Dagang Indonesia.
Riady said Indonesia needs highly-principled bankers, good bankers who will give back to the country by creating employment opportunities for people.
