IBRA won't allow Salim to repurchase BCA: Ary Suta<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) stressed on
\nWednesday it would stick to existing regulations in executing the
\ndivestment program of the publicly listed Bank Central Asia
\n(BCA), including one that bars founding owner Salim Group from
\nreentering the bank.<\/p>\n
The agency's chief I Putu Gede Ary Suta said that the
\nregulations set out by the Financial Sector Policy Committee
\n(FSPC), which groups senior economic ministers, would be upheld.<\/p>\n
"The requirements are clear. The bidders must not have any
\nconnection with the Salim Group. That's our guideline," Ary told
\nreporters.<\/p>\n
"Breaking that regulation would violate the rules of the
\ngame," he added.<\/p>\n
IBRA said earlier that any sales of assets under the agency
\nwould be annulled if there were indications that Salim Group was
\ninvolved in the transaction.<\/p>\n
As for reports stating that Salim had forced the Malaysian
\nPlantation Bhd -- one of the nine bidders for the bank -- to back
\nout, Ary Suta said he could not confirm that, as the agency had
\nnot received official notification regarding the withdrawal.<\/p>\n
"We have not received any information on that. If they plan to
\nback out, they should notify us first."<\/p>\n
As reported earlier, the Malaysian investor had dropped its
\nbid to purchase a controlling stake in the country's largest
\nretail bank for reasons that were unclear.<\/p>\n
However, a number of local newspapers quoted Setiawan Djodi as
\nsaying that Salim Group had put a lot of pressure on Malaysian
\nPlantation Bhd to withdraw from the bid.<\/p>\n
Setiawan Djodi is the owner of Setco Group, the Malaysian
\nPlantation Group's partner in the BCA tender.<\/p>\n
The group was one of the nine strategic partners selected to
\nundergo due diligence, with the investors expected to submit
\ntheir final bid before the Jan. 28 deadline.<\/p>\n
The withdrawal of such a noteworthy investor, which owns the
\nAlliance Bank -- one of the top ten banks in Malaysia -- would be
\nanother slap in the face for the agency, which has been
\nstruggling to restore foreign investor' confidence in domestic
\nfirms.<\/p>\n
However, Ary Suta downplayed such concerns, arguing that
\nMalaysian Plantation was just one out of six foreign companies.<\/p>\n
"It's only one company. We should not be concerned if they
\npull out of the tender. It won't have any significant impact," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The agency took over BCA in 1998 after the government spent
\ntrillions of rupiah to bail out the bank in the height of
\nfinancial crisis.<\/p>\n
Salim Group has since been barred from reentering BCA until it
\nsettles the huge debts it owes the government.<\/p>\n
But, even the governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) has admitted
\nthat it was difficult to track down Salim's presence in new
\ncompanies, especially when it uses a nominee.<\/p>\n
The other eight bidders are: Farallon Capital, the Newbridge
\nCapital Inc. consortium, Standard Chartered, Bank Mega
\nconsortium, Dynamic Choice, Indonesia Recovery Fund Limited,
\nBerca consortium and a consortium of Bank Panin's shareholders.<\/p>\n
The nine investors were short-listed from 15 bidders that had
\njoined the preliminary bids to acquire the bank.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ibra-wont-allow-salim-to-repurchase-bca-ary-suta-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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