Citibank (NYSE: C) to Expand Brokerage Operations in Indonesia

Citibank (NYSE: C) announced that it will attempt to increase its share of Asia’s equity capital markets and expand its operations in Indonesia by gaining a stock brokering license, said the company’s Asia Pacific head on Friday.

Citibank has been expanding its reach and hiring new executives across Asia despite shedding businesses that it considers to be non-core and streamlining its North American operations.

“Asia stands out as the region with the best growth and has the best potential for growth… At this stage, we are just looking at organic investments, organic growth,” Citi’s Asia Pacific joint CEO Shirish Apte told Reuters in an interview.

“We have got aggressive hiring plans,” he added, noting that the company has already hired 200 new employees in Singapore this year. Most of the new hires in Asia will be for its consumer banking operations, which plans to open new branches in many Asian cities.

Citibank recently started offering retail banking services in Vietnam and has announced plans to setup an Islamic subsidiary that will operate in Malaysia and in parts of China.

Apte added that Citibank would place a greater emphasis on the company’s equity capital markets, where it lags behind other countries in Asia, but will not pursue growth at the expense of its profit margin.