Stanchart-Astra preferred bidder for Bank Permata<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
After a month-long due diligence process, a consortium of British
\nStandard Chartered Plc. (Stanchart) bank and local automotive
\ncompany PT Astra International were selected on Friday as the
\npreferred bidder for the government's 51 percent stake in
\npublicly listed Bank Permata, the country's seventh largest bank
\nin terms of assets.<\/p>\n
\"The consortium of Stanchart and Astra was selected after
\nscoring the highest in many categories, including business plans
\nand offering price,\" Minister of Finance Boediono said.<\/p>\n
He added that the price offered by the consortium was well
\nabove the average recorded for previous bank divestment, even on
\na global scale.<\/p>\n
The consortium's offering valued the bank at 3.18 times its
\nDec. 2003 book value -- the equivalent of 2.73 times its June
\n2004 value -- yielding gross proceeds of Rp 2.77 trillion (about
\nUS$304.73 million), higher than the government's target of around
\n$250 million.<\/p>\n
The government, which owns a 97.17 stake in Permata and plans
\nto sell another 20 percent stake to public investors next year,
\nwishes to use the proceeds from the sales to help cover the 2004
\nstate budget deficit.<\/p>\n
Stanchart-Astra outbid three shortlisted bidders that also
\nsubmitted their final bids on Thursday. They were a consortium of
\nMalaysia-based Malayan Banking Bhd. and state pension operator PT
\nJamsostek; a consortium of Bank Panin and Australia and New
\nZealand-based ANZ Ltd.; and Malaysia's Commerce Asset-Holding
\nBhd., which teamed up with local Bank Bumiputera.<\/p>\n
Singapore's United Overseas Bank (UOB) did not submit a final
\nbid.<\/p>\n
The winning partnership has vowed to strengthen Permata's main
\nbusiness in consumer banking and mix it with Astra's financing
\nbusiness.<\/p>\n
It also reportedly plans to keep the ownership of the acquired
\nshares for at least as long as 10 years.<\/p>\n
Stanchart's victory is the first for the London-based bank
\nafter its two previous attempts to acquire an Indonesian bank
\nfailed.<\/p>\n
The foreign bank, whose assets and capital stood at $129
\nbillion and $14.6 billion respectively in June, tried to buy Bank
\nBali in 1999 but failed due to protests from local workers
\nrefusing to be taken over by a foreign bank.<\/p>\n
It lost to a U.S. hedge fund for a 52 percent stake in Bank
\nCentral Asia in 2002.<\/p>\n
Analysts have said that acquiring Permata makes business sense
\nfor Stanchart, established in 1863, as it obtains around two-
\nthirds of its profits from Asian operations. The bank now has 12
\nbranches in Indonesia and offices in five major cities with 1,000
\nstaff serving over 100,000 customers.<\/p>\n
Astra, the country's largest automotive producer, is 41.94
\npercent owned by Mauritius' Cycle & Carriage Ltd. Astra's
\nprevious banking arm, Bank Universal, merged to become part of
\nPermata in 2002 together with Bank Bali and three other banks.<\/p>\n
The consortium will later attend a test of suitability by the
\ncentral bank before being declared the winner. If it fails, the
\nconsortium that scored the second highest will be considered.<\/p>\n
Both Stanchart and Astra will each share a 25.5 percent stake.<\/p>\n
The government has been selling its shares in local banks in a
\nbid to recoup billions of dollars worth of funds injected into
\nthe troubled industry during the late 1990s financial crisis.<\/p>\n
Permata's financial reports as of Sept. 2004: (unaudited)<\/p>\n
Sept. 30, 2004 Sept. 30, 2003<\/p>\n
Net profit Rp 488.7 billion Rp 214.4 billion
\nEquity Rp 2.2 trillion Rp 1.3 trillion
\nAssets Rp 31.4 trillion Rp 27.4 trillion
\nOutstanding loans Rp 13.2 trillion Rp 9.1 trillion
\nThird-party funds Rp 25.6 trillion Rp 23.4 trillion
\nCapital adequacy ratio (CAR) 12.0 % 10.1 %
\nNet non-performing loans(NPL) 1.9 % 3.5 %
\nLoan to deposit ratio (LDR) 52.0 % 40.7 %<\/p>\n
Source: Bank Permata<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/stanchart-astra-preferred-bidder-for-bank-permata-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }