Tolaram Group, the parent company of Indomie Noodles is now looking at expanding its business empire into financial services, according to a news report by Bloomberg.
Valued at about $1.8 billion Tolaram Group is said to be planning to venture into digital banking which will function more less like a traditional banking operation.
According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Tolaram has majority interests in PT Bank Amar Indonesia. However, Bank Amar is largely a digital institution, with loans and deposits for consumers handled over mobile phones. The publicly listed group has loaned almost $300 million to around 300,000 customers and expects advances to increase more than 50% this year.
Kunal Adnani, who is heading the group’s merger and acquisition team told Bloomberg that: “What we’re looking to do is take the same technology, the same systems and the same learning into African markets where we have a presence, albeit in a very different area,” Adnani said in an interview. “We have access to thousands of distributors in these markets and that then can also have a knock-on effect to our business. The more credit we can give them, the more they can increase volumes.”
Tolaram has made major investment in various sectors of the Nigerian economy. Last year, the group announced a multi-billion dollar investment in a port facility in Lekki, Lagos Nigeria.
