JAKARTA, INDONESIA - INDONESIA'S Lippo and Niaga banks, majority owned by the Malaysian government, merged on Monday to meet Jakarta's competition rules and create the country's fifth largest lender, a spokesman said.

The banks which are majority owned by the Malaysian government's investment arm, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, announced the merger at a ceremony in Jakarta witnessed by Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Najib Tun Razak.

The merger is in line with Indonesia's single-presence policy, which says that a party cannot own a controlling stake in more than one bank.

Trading in the two banks was suspended on the Indonesian Stock Exchange on Friday ahead of the announcement.

Malaysian state investment vehicle Khazanah Nasional Bhd. indirectly owns 93 per cent of Lippo and has an indirect 64-percent share in Niaga via its unit Bumiputra Commerce Holdings Bhd.