Bank Indonesia spokesman Difi Johansyah was quoted by media sources as saying that the outgoing bank governor Darmin Nasution had confirmed the approval.
"If they want more, the MAS should give access to Indonesian banks which [are] going to operate there. But we’re not closing the possibility for [DBS] to acquire more," Johansyah added.
Commenting on the news, DBS issued a statement saying, "official written notification of the above approval [had] not been received from Bank Indonesia."
"DBS hopes the application will be approved as originally submitted and will continue to be closely guided by Bank Indonesia."
As part of its $7.3bn bid to purchase the entire bank in an agreement originally signed in April 2012, DBS Group proposed to acquire a strategic stake in Bank Danamon.
Subject to receipt of requisite regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to result in the merger of Danamon with PT Bank DBS Indonesia.
Maintaining a small presence in Indonesia and Malaysia, DBS manages over 200 branches across 15 markets and serves nearly 4 million customers.
Presently, Bank Negara Indonesia and Bank Mandiri have one branch each in Singapore.
