Lippo case not to dent revenue target: IBRA<\/p>\n
Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) remains upbeat
\nabout meeting its full-year revenue target as stated in the 2003
\nstate budget, despite missing out on potential proceeds from the
\nsale of its stake in Bank Lippo after the postponing divestment
\nof the stake until next year.<\/p>\n
"We will be trying hard to contribute to the state coffers as
\ntargeted by the state budget. We still have around two months to
\nmeet the target," IBRA chairman Syafruddin Temenggung said on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
Under the state budget, the agency has to collect Rp 26
\ntrillion (US$3.06 billion) in revenue to help finance the state
\nbudget deficit, which is expected to be around Rp 34.4 trillion.<\/p>\n
Some Rp 21.3 trillion of the target should come in the form of
\ncash, while the remainder in the form of government bonds
\nredeemed from the banking sector.<\/p>\n
Syafruddin said that so far, some Rp 17 trillion had been
\nchanneled to the government, with Rp 14 trillion of it being in
\ncash and the rest in bonds.<\/p>\n
He did not elaborate from what sources the agency would make
\nup the shortfall of Rp 9 trillion.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, IBRA had to postpone the sale of a 52 percent
\nstake in publicly listed Bank Lippo as the bidding prices offered
\nby three potential buyers were all too low.<\/p>\n
This has prompted concerns over the agency's ability to
\ncollect the targeted revenue in time. Proceeds from the Lippo
\nsale should have been above Rp 1 trillion.<\/p>\n
According to IBRA, the postponement was unavoidable as the
\nprices submitted by the three shortlisted consortia were below
\nthe rebid price range target of between Rp 384 and Rp 591 per
\nshare, determined earlier by the agency.<\/p>\n
The rebid price range was set by IBRA after the three
\nconsortia, in their preliminary bids, submitted bidding prices
\nthat were lower than the floor price of Rp 591 per share.<\/p>\n
The government gave no official reason as to why the bidding
\nprices were so low, but State Minister of State Enterprises
\nLaksamana Sukardi suspected that the bank's former shareholders
\nmight have had something to do with it.<\/p>\n
"Potential investors probably feel uncomfortable with the
\npresence of the old shareholders. But I still haven't received
\nthe full reports," Laksamana said.<\/p>\n
The agency holds a 54.9 percent stake in the bank, with the
\nrest owned by the public (35.5 percent) and Lippo E-Net (9.6
\npercent).<\/p>\n
The latter represents the bank's former owner, the Riyadi
\nfamily.<\/p>\n
"But still, if the price is not right, we're obviously not
\ngoing to sell," Laksamana added.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the first day after the postponement, market
\nplayers in the Jakarta Stock Exchange dumped Lippo shares. The
\nbank closed the day at Rp 475 per share, a 17 percent drop from
\nthe closing of Rp 575 on Thursday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lippo-case-not-to-dent-revenue-target-ibra-1447893297",
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