Panin choices clearer for ANZ
ANZ and Panin banks are beginning to unwind their long relationship in Indonesia.ANZ announced on Thursday that it was in "advanced discussions" to buy an additional 14 per cent stake in ANZ Panin from PT Bank, and taking its stake in ANZ Panin to 99 per cent. ANZ made no disclosure on the value of this stake.In 1994 ANZ acquired its joint venture bank (as it then was) in Indonesia when it bought the controlling stake from Westpac. Panin and Westpac originally established the joint venture in 1992.ANZ deepened its connection with Panin (and the Gunawan family that controls Panin) by buying a 30 per cent stake in 1998.In early 2009 ANZ increased its stake in Panin by eight percentage points, to 36 per cent.ANZ might be both a buyer of the Gunawan family stake and a seller of its own if the price is right, though the tenor of the present investment plans suggest the latter is more likely.