[THE INVESTOR] KB Kookmin Bank on July 2 said it signed a contract to buy new shares in Indonesian bank Bukopin.

The deal, which has received approval from Indonesia’s financial authorities, will allow the Korean bank to become the second-largest shareholder of the bank, with a 22 percent stake.

Bank Bukopin is the 14th-biggest bank in Indonesia and has 322 branches. 

Once the deal is completed, KB Kookmin Bank will enter the Southeast Asian country for a second time, as it unloaded its holdings in Bank Maybank Indonesia in 2008.

By Park Ga-young (gypark@heraldcorp.com)