ANZ, Commerce still interested in Niaga stake

ANZ, Commerce still interested in Niaga stake

Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Australia's ANZ Banking Group Ltd. and Malaysian financial
group Commerce Asset-Holding Group Bhd. are still interested in
bidding for the government's controlling stake in medium-sized
Bank Niaga, according to Chairman of the Indonesian Bank
Restructuring Agency (IBRA) Syafruddin Temenggung.

Syafruddin said on Wednesday he had received letters from the
two potential investors stating their interest in the publicly
listed bank.

"Bidders involved in the previous tender are still allowed to
participate (in the new bidding process). In fact, I have
received letters from ANZ and Commerce expressing their
interest," he told reporters.

The government canceled the strategic sale of its 51 percent
stake in Bank Niaga earlier this month because the bids submitted
by two final bidders -- consortia each led by ANZ and Commerce
Asset-Holding -- were considered very low, at Rp 20 to Rp 30 per
share, compared with a market price of about Rp 70 at the time.

The Financial Sector Policy Committee (FSPC), which groups
several senior economic ministers and has the final say on the
government asset sale program, then asked IBRA to come up with a
new sale strategy to obtain more in proceeds.

IBRA, which holds the Bank Niaga stake and other assets taken
over by the government from the banking sector in the late 1990s,
then came up with a new scheme by increasing the stake to be sold
to up to 71 percent, with the first 20 percent to be sold via the
stock market.

The government controls a 97.15 percent stake in Bank Niaga,
while the remaining shares are held by the public.

The agency, which has yet to decide on the sale mechanism for
the remaining 51 percent stake, is determined to complete the
whole sale process by mid-September.

The proceeds from the sale will help finance the 2002 state
budget deficit.

The sale program is also seen as an acid test of the
government's commitment to implementing the reform program,
particularly bank restructuring initiatives.

Elsewhere, Syafruddin said that the agency was scheduled to
meet with House of Representatives Commission IX on financial
affairs at a hearing to seek approval for the new Bank Niaga sale
plan.

Apart from Niaga, the government also plans to sell three
other banks this year, including Bank Danamon, Bank Lippo and
Bank Mandiri.

Any delay in the sales program of these assets would hamper
IBRA's efforts to raise more than Rp 35 trillion in cash this
year, the proceeds of which will be used partly to help plug the
state budget deficit, projected at some Rp 42 trillion.