Indonesia eyes foreign firms for more mergers

JAKARTA: Indonesia has almost 2,000 banks and a currency that has plunged 11% since January, a combination overburdened regulators hope will prove irresistible to foreign acquirers.

The country’s lenders are in much better shape than during the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, and have stood up well to the weakening of the rupiah this year, said Fauzi Ichsan, chief executive officer of the Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corp, known as LPS.