Singtel buys minority stake in Indonesian bank for about $35 mln

SINGAPORE, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications , Southeast Asia's largest telecommunications operator, said on Friday it has bought a 16.3% stake in PT Bank Fama International for 500 billion rupiah ($34.9 million) to pursue banking opportunities in Indonesia.

Singtel said its wholly owned subsidiary Singtel Alpha Investments acquired 2.4 billion new shares issued by the Indonesian bank, which is majority owned by a unit of conglomerate Elang Mahkota Teknologi Tbk.

Singtel, which has been seeking to grow outside its traditional telco business, has a digital banking joint venture in Singapore with Grab Holdings Ltd. The joint venture has also applied for a digital banking licence in Malaysia.

Grab, the region's biggest ride hailing and food delivery firm, is also an investor in Fama, according to Singtel.

"This latest investment in digital banking is consistent with Singtel's strategic reset of riding digital growth trends to build sustainable new businesses across Asia, particularly in markets where the Group has a strong presence," Singtel said in its statement. (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore Editing by Ed Davies)