Govt shortlists five advisors for Permata<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government is pressing ahead with its plans to auction off
\na majority stake in Bank Permata, with five securities firms
\nshortlisted as candidates for the program's financial advisors.<\/p>\n
Mohammad Syahrial, president of the Asset Management Company
\n(PPA) -- a state agency in charge of assets formerly controlled
\nby the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA), said that the
\nfive had been picked from a total of 19 firms taking part in the
\nselection process.<\/p>\n
\"We're running a 'beauty contest' to select the financial
\nadvisor for the (divestment) program. We plan to decide the
\nwinner tomorrow (Friday),\" Syahrial said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Syahrial said the five were prominent players in the industry,
\nnamely Morgan Stanley, ABN Amro, UBS Warburg, Merryl Lynch and
\nCredit Suisse First Boston.<\/p>\n
Permata, which is 97 percent owned by the PPA as the
\ngovernment's representative, is included in the government's list
\nof banks to be sold this year, although the plan remains subject
\nto approval from legislators.<\/p>\n
The PPA's continued commitment toward divestment should pose
\nanother blow to Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI)'s plans for a merger
\nwith Permata. Under PPA's plan, the sale of the Permata stake
\nwill be on an open auction, meaning both domestic and foreign
\ninvestors can participate in the sale program.<\/p>\n
BNI said that the merger with Permata that has different core
\nbusinesses would form a win-win partnership. BNI's proposal,
\nhowever, suffered a setback on Wednesday when Permata's
\nmanagement expressed opposition to the plan, although the
\ngovernment will have the final say as the bank's majority
\nstakeholder.<\/p>\n
The management said Permata would instead focus on efforts to
\nstrengthen its business operation to improve its value ahead of
\nthe sale program. The bank is one of the country's leading
\nlenders for the retail and consumer sectors.<\/p>\n
Permata itself emerged from a merger of five banks controlled
\nby the now-defunct IBRA -- Bank Bali, Bank Universal, Bank
\nArthamedia, Bank Prima Express and Bank Patriot -- to become one
\nof the country's top-10 lenders with assets of some Rp 30
\ntrillion.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Syahrial said, in addition to selecting a financial
\nadvisor for the divestment plan, PPA was also in the process of
\nselecting a legal advisor for the plan.<\/p>\n
\"For the legal advisor, we had sent 13 teaser letter to 13
\nlegal firms. Nine of them have expressed interest. We have
\nshortlisted them to three,\" he said, without naming them.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-shortlists-five-advisors-for-permata-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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