HAILING FROM ECUADOR AND NOW NEAR FLUENT IN BAHASA INDONESIA, SEBASTIAN PAREDES PRESIDENT DIRECTOR OF BANK DANAMON, SPEAKS ABOUT MANDALA’S TRANSFORMATION

What do you think about the New Mandala?
We are very impressed with the new armada of today’s Mandala and its sophisticated Airbus A320s and A319s fleet. We like the new spirit, which has transformed it to a brand new modern airline, supported by professional investors and world-class management. We wish great success to Mandala with its new branding and strategy, and to it becoming one of the leading airlines in Indonesia and the region.

How can Mandala benefit Bank Danamon in providing air transportation solutions?
We are always on the look out for new partnerships and want to provide the best services and solutions for our customers – especially our card business customers, who are widely spread in cities across Indonesia. Therefore, a demand for air transportation to help our customers connect with each other is a must.

On the company’s side, Danamon with an extensive network of more than 1,700 branches and approximately 40,000 employees, including its Danamon Simpan Pinjam (DSP) and Adira Finance in all 33 provinces in Indonesia would certainly need a proven transportation fleet with nationwide coverage. This collaboration will benefit Mandala, our valued customers, as well as Danamon employees.

How can Bank Danamon better partner Mandala?
Danamon and Mandala are currently working on several partnership plans. These include Mandala becoming a merchant for Danamon’s credit card and cross-sell promotions, such as the Mandala Fair, and budget packages with payment with our Visa, MasterCard and American Express Cards. We are also considering an opportunity to conduct joint programs on Danamon-Mandala co-brand credit cards, and to appoint Mandala as our corporate travel partner. In November 2009, we partnered with Mandala to support the the Indonesia Travel and Holiday Fair 2009 (ITHF 2009) – which provided great holiday and travel offers for both our customers and employees.