Swissasia appraisal delayed due to lack of documents: BI<\/p>\n
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Bank Indonesia has urged Swissasia Global consortium, the
\nwinning bidder of Bank Lippo's 52 percent stake, to immediately
\nsubmit the necessary documents for a complete evaluation of the
\ncompany, which is required before the sale agreement can be
\nsigned.<\/p>\n
Anwar Nasution, senior deputy of the central bank, told
\nreporters on Friday that the consortium had not submitted the
\nrequired letter of comfort so BI could not proceed with its
\nappraisal based only on the preliminary data it has.<\/p>\n
The central bank needs to know where the funds to buy the
\nstake came from and who the shareholders are, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Swissasia is a recently established entity with capital
\nassets of US$400 million,\" said Anwar, while adding that to
\nensure credibility, income statements were required.<\/p>\n
\"That's the regulation that was also applied in (the
\nacquisitions of) Bank Central Asia and Bank Danamon,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) recently
\nannounced that Swissasia as the preferred bidder in Lippo's
\ndivestment, which is estimated to contribute Rp 1.21 trillion
\n($142 million) to the state budget.<\/p>\n
The consortium is composed of Swissfirst Bank AG, Chaffron
\nLtd., Matrix Asia Holding Ltd., ASM Investment Ltd. and Ferrell
\nOpportunity Capital Ltd.<\/p>\n
Swissfirst is a subsidiary of the investment brokerage and
\nbank Swissfirst AG while Chaffron Ltd. is owned by an Austrian
\nbank, Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG.<\/p>\n
\"They (the European banks) are the main shareholders (in the
\nconsortium), each holding 24 percent of shares\" said Anwar.
\n\"That's why we're asking for the letter of comfort from them.\"<\/p>\n
IBRA Chairman Syafruddin Tumenggung said, as quoted by
\nDetik.com, that the agency had asked the investor to complete the
\ndocuments needed by BI as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
\"After BI finishes its evaluation, I will sign the SPA (Sales
\nand Purchase Agreement),\" said Syafruddin.<\/p>\n
The divestment is expected to be wrapped up on Feb. 19, as
\npart of IBRA's race to close the deals on several banks in its
\nhands and to reach the set target of Rp 5 trillion before it is
\ndissolved on Feb. 27.<\/p>\n
IBRA currently holds a 54.9 percent stake in Lippo, while
\npublic investors own 35.5 percent and Lippo E-Net, controlled by
\nthe Riady family, the former controlling owners of Bank Lippo,
\nholds the remaining 9.6 percent.<\/p>\n
As to the possibility of the Riady family being behind the
\nconsortium, Anwar said he did not know since there was no
\ninformation provided.<\/p>\n
\"That's what we want to find out,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Even if they were, he elaborated, there would not be a problem
\nsince the previous agreement between the government and bankers
\nallowed such actions.<\/p>\n
Lippo, with Rp 22.4 trillion in assets, has 379 branches
\nacross Indonesia and employs some 6,000 people.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/swissasia-appraisal-delayed-due-to-lack-of-documents-bi-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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