Manulife fiasco instigates high-level talks<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The intensifying legal battle between Canadian insurance company
\nManulife Financial Corp., and its former Indonesian partner the
\nGondokusumo family has once again triggered high-level talks
\nbetween the Indonesian and Canadian governments amid fears the
\ncase could strain relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Minister of Finance Boediono said that Canada's
\nDeputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister John Manley had phoned
\nhim to express concern about the case.<\/p>\n
However, Boediono said the government could not intervene in
\nthe ongoing legal process despite concerns expressed by Canadian
\nauthorities.<\/p>\n
\"We have explained this to the Canadian ambassador to
\nIndonesia and to other Canadian officials,\" Boediono said.<\/p>\n
\"I hope this case won't hurt ties between the two countries.\"<\/p>\n
Earlier on Tuesday, Vice President Hamzah Haz also stressed
\nthat the government would not interfere in the judicial process,
\nand urged all parties to respect the law.<\/p>\n
Canada is a member of the Consultative Group on Indonesia
\n(CGI), which groups Indonesia's traditional donors.<\/p>\n
The Commercial Court ruled Manulife's local insurance unit PT
\nAsuransi Jiwa Manulife Indonesia (AJMI) bankrupt after a receiver
\nof PT Dharmala Sakti Sejahtera (DSS) filed a lawsuit over unpaid
\ndividend in 1999.<\/p>\n
AJMI has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
The bankruptcy ruling was made despite the fact that AJMI is
\nfinancially sound, as also admitted by the finance ministry.<\/p>\n
Manulife has been locked in a legal battle with the
\nGondokusumo family, the founder of DSS, for nearly two years
\nsince it acquired the latter's 40 percent stake in AJMI in 2000
\nthrough a government auction. The purchase was immediately
\ncontested by a British Virgin Island-registered company, which
\nManulife said was a front set up by the Gondokusumo family.<\/p>\n
There have been accusations that the Gondokusumo family has
\nbeen trying to defraud Manulife.<\/p>\n
There have been fears that the Manulife case would further
\ndiscourage foreign investors from entering the country as it
\nstrengthens the perception of legal uncertainty here.<\/p>\n
The World Bank's commercial arm, the International Finance
\nCorp., has also expressed alarm about the ruling and its likely
\nimpact on investment in Indonesia. IFC is also a shareholder at
\nAJMI.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/manulife-fiasco-instigates-high-level-talks-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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