Hashim now Bank Papan's largest shareholder<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Businessman Jopie Widjaya has sold one half of
\nhis stake in the publicly-listed Bank Papan Sejahtera to Hashim
\nS. Djoyohadikusumo, just few months after taking over the stocks
\nfrom the bank's founders.<\/p>\n
Jopie, who hit newspaper headlines when he took over the
\nmajority stake of the bank in May, said on Saturday that the
\ntransaction was purely a business deal.<\/p>\n
"The transaction has nothing to do with the public's
\ncontroversy," he said in reference to the public's objection to
\nhis move in taking the controlling stake in the bank, which is
\npartly owned by Bank Indonesia, the central bank.<\/p>\n
The takeover has made Hashim, the son of noted economist
\nSumitro Djoyohadikusumo, as the largest shareholder, with a stake
\nof 19.8 percent.<\/p>\n
Jopie, president of the publicly listed Steady Safe, acquired
\n22.52 percent of Bank Papan's shares from Bank PDFCI and Bank
\nPapan's other founders through his wholly-owned Infiniti Wahana
\nin May. But sources said that Jopie had also acquired another 29
\npercent stake through his affiliated firms, making Jopie the
\nbank's largest single shareholder.<\/p>\n
However, Jopie's unprecedented takeover of Bank Papan had
\ncaused concern in the public, who feared that the new majority
\nshareholder would divert the bank's main business of mortgage
\noperations to other consumer banking activities.<\/p>\n
On the other side, business analysts felt something wrong
\nbehind the maneuver, given Jopie's not-so-promising financial
\ncondition. Many of them alleged Jopie had illegally used Steady
\nSafe funds to financing the transactions. In fact Steady Safe, in
\nwhich Jopie has a majority, giving him control, raised loans of
\napproximately US$25 million from overseas banks right before he
\npursued the acquisition deal.<\/p>\n
In an extra-ordinary shareholders meeting, the bank's
\nmanagement agreed to retain the mortgage activities as its core
\nbusiness.<\/p>\n
The Capital Market Supervisory Agency and Bank Indonesia have
\npromised to continue investigating the fairness of Jopie's May
\ndeal despite the consensus.<\/p>\n
However, no result of the investigation has been announced.
\nJopie has denied the allegations.<\/p>\n
"I sold part of my shares in Bank Papan without any pressure
\nfrom outsiders," he said when he asked if he had been forced by
\nthe central bank or the capital market watchdog to reduce his
\nstake in Bank Papan.<\/p>\n
"From what I feel, there is no indication that Bank Indonesia
\nhas any objection to my involvement in the bank," he said,
\ninsisting that the sale was made because he needed additional
\nfunds for other business activities.<\/p>\n
On top of that, he said, the shares were sold to Hashim and
\nfriends in line with his intention to find a good partner for
\ndeveloping the bank further.<\/p>\n
Hashim<\/p>\n
Tunasmas Paduarta, an investment company controlled by Hashim,
\npurchased a 19.8 percent stake in Bank Papan through the Jakarta
\nStock Exchange (JSX) last Friday from Infiniti and other old
\nshareholders, at an average price of Rp 4,500 per share.<\/p>\n
The deal made Tunasmas, an affiliate of Hashim's business
\ngroup comprising of PT Tirtamas Majutama, PT Semen Cibinong, PT
\nSemen Nusantara and PT Trumix Beton, as the majority shareholder
\nin Bank Papan.<\/p>\n
Al Njoo, of the business group, said that the acquisition of
\nthe bank's shares was made to strengthen the group's strategic
\ninvestment operations in the financial sector.<\/p>\n
"It was simply made to strengthen our strategic investment
\nactivities, rather than an effort to control the ownership of
\nBank Papan," he said while promising that Bank Papan's mortgage
\noperation would be further developed as part of its business
\nstrategy in the financial sector.<\/p>\n
The new deal was carried out shortly after the capital market
\nwatchdog announced its plan to issue a tender offer code, a
\nruling which will be designed to prevent a hostile takeover of a
\npublicly-listed company.<\/p>\n
Under the planned ruling, existing shareholders are required
\nto open a tender to the public if the number of shares to be sold
\nis more than 20 percent of a company's total stocks.<\/p>\n
Bank Papan's shares, acquired by Tunasmas Paduarta, were, in
\nfact, less than 20 percent, but Al Njoo said that the business
\ngroup is actually in the position of buying over 50 percent of
\nthe bank's shares in order to benefit from the absence of the
\ntender offer code.<\/p>\n
"So what is your real aim in the takeover of the bank's
\nshares?," a reporter asked. "We will mainly expand our financial
\nactivities by, for example, controlling the management of Bank
\nPapan," Al Njoo explained, also saying that the negotiations for
\nthe takeover of Jopie's shares in Bank Papan lasted about one
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
Tunasmas Paduarta will become the financial arm of Hashim's
\nbusiness group, which is now involved in cement and coal
\nproduction, the petrochemical industry and electricity
\ngeneration.<\/p>\n
In addition to the banking industry, the business group will
\nalso operate in the securities business, in cooperation with
\nMerrill Lynch of the United States.<\/p>\n
Al Njoo said that the group's forthcoming business expansion
\nwill include the establishment of an olefin aromatic plant in
\nTuban, East Java, and the establishment of a insurance company,
\nin a partnership with a U.S. life insurance firm.<\/p>\n
The takeover of Bank Papan's shares further adds to Hashim's
\n"shares collection" in the banking industry because, besides Bank
\nPapan, he also partly owns Bank Universal, Bank Pelita and Bank
\nIndustri.<\/p>\n
Bank Papan, listed on the JSX and the Surabaya Stock Exchange
\nlast year, is one of the rapidly growing banks in the country.
\nIts total assets increased sharply to Rp 928.82 billion as of
\n1994, from Rp 457.55 billion as of 1993; Rp 419.38 billion as of
\n1992; and Rp 376.27 billion as of 1991.<\/p>\n
Its before-tax profits rose to Rp 21.73 billion in 1994, from
\nRp 12.54 billion in 1993; Rp 17.34 billion in 1992; and Rp 18.32
\nbillion in 1991. (hen)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hashim-now-bank-papans-largest-shareholder-1447893297",
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