Hashim denies Semen Cibinong missing millions<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Tycoon Hashim Djojohadikusumo denied on Tuesday
\na report that US$250 million disappeared from the books of
\npublicly listed cementmaker PT Semen Cibinong.<\/p>\n
The president of the country's third largest cementmaker said
\nSemen Cibinong deposited the money in several overseas banks in
\n1997 and it remained in the institutions.<\/p>\n
\"The report that the funds are missing is untrue. I also deny
\nslanderous reports saying that the fund has been used for money
\npolitics,\" he told a news conference.<\/p>\n
\"The fact is that the $250 million in funds is still recorded
\nas deposits in the company's balance sheet until the end of June
\nthis year.\"<\/p>\n
Hashim admitted that Semen Cibinong was experiencing
\ndifficulty in withdrawing the money because the banks also were
\nhaving problems recouping loans channeled to several companies,
\nincluding PT Tunas Mas, a Semen Cibinong affiliate under the
\nTirtamas Group.<\/p>\n
Hashim said Tunas Mas received a $250 million loan from the
\nbanks to buy up to 50 percent of the shares in Bank Niaga from
\nthe Tahija family and the public in July 1997, shortly before the
\nmonetary crisis struck.<\/p>\n
Hashim refused to name the banks where the funds were
\ndeposited because he feared the company's creditors would attempt
\nto freeze or take over the funds.<\/p>\n
\"We have experienced similar cases,\" Hashim said.<\/p>\n
Semen Cibinong was earlier said to have lost $250 million due
\nto unspecified reasons, a report which discouraged its creditors
\nfrom continuing debt restructuring talks.<\/p>\n
The company has been engaged in debt-restructuring talks for
\n18 months with about 60 banks, including Deutsche Bank, Chase
\nManhattan, the U.S. Exim Bank and ABN Amro Bank.<\/p>\n
Hashim said Semen Cibinong's total debt was $1.4 billion, 94
\npercent of which was owed to foreign creditors.<\/p>\n
The report on the missing funds surfaced amid the Bank Bali
\nscandal, leading some analysts to speculate the funds went
\nmissing in similar ways.<\/p>\n
Bank Bali paid several politically well-connected people a
\ncommission of Rp 546 billion (almost $80 million at current
\nexchange rates) for helping recoup its interbank loans held by
\nthe Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA).<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Stock Exchange suspended the trading of Semen
\nCibinong's shares on Friday until the firm gave a clear
\nexplanation on the report of the missing funds.<\/p>\n
Hashim said there were no irregularities in the fact that
\nSemen Cibinong deposited its funds in banks which provided loans
\nto Tunas Mas for the Bank Niaga share purchase.<\/p>\n
\"The availability of additional equity enabled the affiliates
\nto invest in Bank Niaga, then one of Indonesia's strongest banks.<\/p>\n
\"However, the collapse of the Indonesian banking sector led to
\nthe loss of liquidity in Bank Niaga as well as other Indonesian
\nbanks and the loss of the investment by the (Tirtamas) group,\"
\nHashim said.<\/p>\n
Hashim bought Tahija's shares in Bank Niaga for Rp 8,000 in
\n1997, but the value was only Rp 125 per share on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Hashim said Tirtamas undertook programs over the past two
\nyears to raise funds for the payment of Tunas Mas' debt,
\nincluding through asset disposals and others measures.<\/p>\n
The group has held off on selling its assets due to the low
\nprice offered by prospective buyers.<\/p>\n
\"The prevailing market situation has not permitted any
\ntransaction to close,\" Hashim said.<\/p>\n
Hashim was optimistic that Tirtamas would reach a deal with a
\nforeign investor by the first quarter of next year for the sale
\nof a portion of its share in a petrochemical plant in Tuban, East
\nJava. The plant is reportedly valued in billions of dollars.<\/p>\n
\"Proceeds from the asset disposal will be more than enough to
\npay off Tunas Mas' debt,\" Hashim said. (jsk)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hashim-denies-semen-cibinong-missing-millions-1447893297",
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