Three banks want Rabobank's Indonesian unit

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China seeks strong presence in Indonesia.

Its competitors for the Indonesian unit of Dutch financial services provider Rabobank are Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Qatar National Bank. All three are expected to submit preliminary bids to buy the Indonesian branch in a US$400 million deal. First-round bids are due by the end of January.

ICBC and CBA are the largest banks in their countries. ICBC is also the world’s biggest bank.

The strong line-up for Rabobank's Indonesian branch reflects foreign banks' interest in increasing their presence in Indonesia where over half the population of 240 million do not have bank accounts.

Rabobank is unloading subscale and nonstrategic businesses to focus its international operations on the agricultural industry. The sale of its Indonesian unit is part of this strategic divestment. Indonesia is the only Asian country in which Rabobank has retail operations.

The deal will be subject to Indonesia's new bank ownership rules that limit foreign ownership in domestic banks at 40%.