Senior legislators object to Temasek bid for Permata<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Temasek Holdings, an investment arm of the Singapore
\ngovernment, is likely to face hurdles in bidding for a majority
\ncontrol in Bank Permata following a plan by several key
\nlegislators that would give local investors a better chance to
\nbuy the bank.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the House of Representatives' Commission IX for
\nfinancial affairs Emir Moeis said on Monday that the Commission
\nwould recommend that the government make it \"easier\" for local
\ninvestors to bid on the controlling stake in Permata.<\/p>\n
\"Temasek already owns several local banks, and I think that is
\nenough. We want a 'healthier competition' in the banking sector
\nby empowering local banks or European banks,\" said Emir, who is
\nfrom the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).<\/p>\n
However, Emir said that he was not asking the government for
\nan outright ban on Temasek in the bidding because it would be
\nagainst free trade principles adopted by the World Trade
\nOrganization, of which Indonesia is a member.<\/p>\n
\"We don't recommend a ban on Temasek. We just want the
\ngovernment to create a more favorable bidding process for local
\nbanks, which have sufficient assets and quality, to own Permata.
\nBut the local banks should not be those that are controlled by
\nforeign banks,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The government plans to sell 71 percent of its total 91.3
\npercent ownership in publicly listed Permata, which was
\nestablished two years ago by merging five ailing banks. The
\nproceeds from the sale would be used to help finance the state
\nbudget deficit.<\/p>\n
The stakes are currently managed by PT Perusahaan Pengelolaan
\nAset (PPA), a new entity under the auspices of the Ministry of
\nFinance.<\/p>\n
The ministry had previously obtained the approval of
\nCommission IX to sell a 20 percent stake in Permata to public
\ninvestors via a secondary offering, but had yet to obtain
\napproval for the sale of the controlling 51 percent stake. The
\nCommission is slated to give the approval on Wednesday. By law,
\nthe selling of government shares in banks must be approved by the
\nHouse.<\/p>\n
As reported by several local media, Temasek is among the 19
\ninvestors bidding for Permata via Bank Danamon and Bank
\nInternational Indonesia (BII).<\/p>\n
Temasek, which manages US$40 billion worth of funds and
\nassets, had already bought 62 percent of the government's stake
\nin Danamon through Asia Financial Holdings consortium, and 51
\npercent in BII via Sorak Financial Holdings consortium. It also
\nowns a 41.94 percent stake in telecommunications firm PT Indosat
\nvia ST Telemedia.<\/p>\n
Deputy chairman of Commission IX Paskah Suzetta agreed with
\nEmir, and suggested that the government put forth qualified local
\nbanks to acquire Permata rather than giving foreign banks a
\nchance to bid, to encourage local banks to become global banking
\nplayers.<\/p>\n
\"I prefer Bank Mandiri or Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) to take
\ncontrol of Permata. They can form a consortium to financially
\nsupport the takeover,\" said Paskah, who is from the Golkar Party.<\/p>\n
\"We want to try to prevent any suspicion or fear from the
\npublic over issues that the country's financial industry will be
\ninvaded by Singapore. I know that it is a free market, but we
\nwant to make it easier for local banks to own Permata,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Local banks such as BNI, Bank Central Asia, Bank Panin and
\nBank Artha Graha had reportedly been interested in bidding for
\nPermata.<\/p>\n
However, BNI president Sigit Pramono said that BNI had decided
\nnot to join in the bidding, as it would jeopardize BNI's capital
\nadequacy ratio (CAR) and violate central bank regulations.<\/p>",
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