Jakarta. State-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Indonesia's largest bank by asset, officially opened a new branch in Taipei on Friday, expanding its presence in East Asia and aiming to tap into the growing trade and remittance flows between Taiwan and Indonesia.

Located on Nanjing East Road in Taipei’s Zhongshan District, the branch targets a market with significant growth potential, driven by rising cross-border transactions and a large Indonesian migrant worker population.

Hery Gunardi, BRI’s President Director, said the Taipei branch will strengthen the role of Indonesian migrant workers as key contributors to the economy.

“As the only Indonesian bank branch in Taiwan, BRI Taipei is ready to become a comprehensive banking service hub -- particularly for the around 360,000 Indonesian migrant workers here -- through remittance, savings, and investment products to support their future financial planning,” Hery said in a statement.

The branch offers integrated financial solutions, including savings products, financing services, and remittances. It has also introduced initiatives to make foreign exchange transactions easier and launched a BRI ATM card usable across Taiwan’s banking network.

BRI also envisions the branch serving as a gateway for Taiwanese investment into Indonesia, offering competitive yields to attract both direct and indirect investments.

“We expect the branch to facilitate investors from Taiwan to enter the Indonesian market, with more competitive investment yields,” Hery added.

Rp 40 trillion in Remittances
Arif Sulistiyo, head of the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office (KDEI) in Taipei, said BRI’s presence would help strengthen economic relations between the two economies.

Taiwan hosts nearly 400,000 Indonesians -- the third-largest Indonesian diaspora community after Malaysia and Saudi Arabia -- most of whom work as caregivers or factory workers.

“These migrant workers send money home every month, with remittances from Taiwan to Indonesia exceeding Rp 40 trillion ($2.5 billion) annually,” Arif said.

The Taipei branch received its full retail foreign bank branch license from Taiwanese authorities in 2021, enabling it to provide a wide range of services, including deposits, lending, remittances, trade finance, and treasury operations.

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