2018 Economic Outlook: Opportunities for the Local Economy

Pekanbaru, 23 November 2017 - PT Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional Tbk (BTPN), together with Harian Bisnis Indonesia (Indonesian Business Daily), once again had the opportunity of hosting the Entrepreneur Networking Forum. The discussion, under the theme of 2018 Economic Outlook: Optimizing Regional Potential in the Digital Era, featured as speakers economist from Riau University Dahlan Tampubolon and Head of Small & Medium Enterprise Business at BTPN Sonny Christian Joseph. The event was moderated by Chief Editor of Harian Bisnis Indonesia Hery Trianto.

The discussion explored the various opportunities and challenges facing economic players in Indonesia in the coming year. In his presentation, Sonny Christian Joseph said, as a bank with a vision of changing the lives of millions of Indonesian citizens, BTPN believes that innovation is the key to growth

To this end, BTPN continually devises innovations aimed at meeting the needs of its customers. One of these was the creation of BTPN Mitra Bisnis, a business unit designed specifically to cater for the various requirements of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by means of reliable financial solutions, business capacity development, and the opening of greater access to markets.

BTPN Mitra Bisnis offers numerous banking products and services designed to support the working capital and business investment needs of customers. In addition to financing-related products and services, BTPN Mitra Bisnis also provides non-financial solution support to assist customers to develop their capacities in running businesses incorporated within Daya. Daya is a measured and sustainable empowerment program intended to enhance customer capacities.

Daya Tumbuh Usaha Mitra Bisnis inspires customers to make their business successful, expands their insight, and also serves as a platform for fellow BTPN Mitra Bisnis customers to network and establish relationships.

We speak about various topics chosen specifically based on customers' needs. These include business taxes presented by tax consultants, financial reporting, legal aspects of business, and marketing enhancements through digital media. These kinds of forums are expected to inspire our customers to continue innovating so they don't get left behind by today's technological developments,' said Sonny.

To support business processes oriented to the needs and convenience of customers, BTPN Mitra Bisnis is also making use of digital platforms. With services that can be tailored to the needs of each individual customer, Sonny expects BTPN Mitra Bisnis to continue acting as a proven partner to SMEs in their business development while, in turn, supporting the economic growth of society.

At the same occasion, University of Riau economist Dahlan Tampubolon predicted that Riau's economy will do better in 2018 due to the improving global economy, as well as on the back of rising prices of commodities, such as oil, CPO and rubber, which form the backbone of Riau's economy. These increased commodity prices are also expected to drive improvements in public purchasing power.

'Furthermore, another factor supporting growth is the positive outlook for the banking sector next year. The downward trend in domestic interest rates is expected to strengthen the performance of banks, enabling them to provide solid support to the growth of the real sector, such as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs),' Dahlan explained.