BCA sale to go on despite protest<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In a show of force to oppose the sale of Bank Central Asia (BCA)
\nto foreign investors, thousands of employees of the country's
\nlargest retail bank staged a mass protest in several major cities
\non Monday.<\/p>\n
But the government insisted that it would not back down from
\nthe sale plan, with Vice President Hamzah Haz saying the
\ngovernment was likely to announce the winning bidder of a 51
\npercent stake in the bank on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"The sale won't be canceled as it's part of the (country's)
\nletter of intent (to the International Monetary Fund) and the IMF
\nhas approved it,\" he said following a Cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) has
\nshortlisted two final bidders, including a consortium led by
\nU.K.-based Standard Chartered Bank Plc, and U.S. investment firm
\nFarallon Capital.<\/p>\n
The sale of government shares in BCA has been delayed since
\n2000 due to various reasons, including political interference.<\/p>\n
The completion of the divestment program is seen as a litmus
\ntest by international lenders and investors for the government's
\ncommitment to the economic reform program.<\/p>\n
The support of international lenders, particularly from the
\nIMF, which is providing a multibillion dollar bailout loan for
\nthe country, is crucial as the government is planning to meet the
\nParis Club of creditor nations in April to seek a rescheduling
\nfacility for debts maturing this year.<\/p>\n
The rescheduling facility is important to help limit the 2002
\nstate budget deficit to 2.5 percent of the gross domestic product
\n(GDP).<\/p>\n
The sale of BCA will also provide cash to the government to
\nhelp finance the budget deficit, and is also part of efforts to
\nturn around the country's ailing banking sector.<\/p>\n
But neither the IBRA top officials nor the State Minister of
\nState Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi, who has the final say on the
\ndivestment program, could be reached for comment.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin warned that
\na delay in the sale of BCA would have a negative impact on the
\noverall economy.<\/p>\n
He added that the sale process of the bank had been properly
\nimplemented and the divestment program should in turn benefit
\nemployees.<\/p>\n
But spokesman for the BCA employees' union, Bilal Idris, said
\nthat BCA employees here were firmly against the sale and demanded
\nthat their representatives be included in all future negotiations
\ninvolving the fate of BCA.<\/p>\n
\"It is the employees who have worked to make BCA one of the
\ncountry's largest institutions. We should not be neglected,\"
\nBilal told the thousands of people, which largely consisted of
\nBCA employees, at the Wisma BCA compound in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
At least 4,000 staff members from the Greater Jakarta area
\njoined the protest, causing at least 119 branches of BCA banks in
\nthe area to shut down temporarily.<\/p>\n
Demonstrators marched from the bank's headquarters to the
\noffice of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) and
\nthen on to the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Many employees reportedly fear less generous benefits or even
\njob loss under a new owner.<\/p>\n
In East Java, some 100 BCA employees protested outside the
\nEast Java Council, demanding the government to cancel the sale of
\nthe bank to \"foreigners,\" stating that they believed they would
\nbe treated unfairly by their new owners.<\/p>\n
In West Java, the BCA employees' communication forum demanded
\nthat West Java councillors support them in their protest against
\nthe sale of the government's stake in the institution.<\/p>\n
\"We are fighting to make sure that the country's biggest asset
\ndoes not fall into the hands of foreigners,\" Agus Sudradjat, one
\nof the forum's seven representatives received by West Java
\ncouncillors, said on Monday.<\/p>\n
In Medan, North Sumatra, 15 representatives of BCA employees
\nof the branch there met with North Sumatra councillors in
\nconnection with the imminent sale.<\/p>\n
Representatives' spokesman Dwi Mensana Tarigan said that all
\nBCA employees shared the fear that there could be a major
\nrestructuring of the BCA organization nationwide, which would
\nmost likely lead to \"downsizing\".<\/p>\n
Through IBRA, the government took over BCA, which has 800
\nbranches and 22,000 employees, from the Salim Group three years
\nago at the height of the regional financial crisis. The
\ngovernment injected huge amounts of bonds into the institution to
\nrecapitalize the bank.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bca-sale-to-go-on-despite-protest-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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