Bakrie Finance to acquire Swadinamika Multi Finance

JAKARTA (JP): PT Bakrie Finance Corporation, a Bakrie Group subsidiary, will buy a 91.94 percent stake, or 57 million shares, of PT Swadinamika Multi Finance for Rp 96.9 billion (US$41.8 million).

"The shareholders of PT Bakrie Finance Corporation and PT Swadinamika have agreed with the planned acquisition," Mustafa I. Jatim, the president of PT Bakrie Finance corporation, said yesterday after an extraordinary meeting of the company's shareholders.

He said PT Bakrie Finance Corporation would transfer some of its assets to Swadinamika at market prices to pay for the shares.

He said the acquisition was part of his company's program to consolidate its financial services.

"Bakrie Finance Corporation will become our holding company for financial services and PT Swadinamika will be our subsidiary for handling financial activities," he said.

Mustafa said PT Bakrie Finance Corporation, as a holding company, would not be limited by the finance minister's regulation No. 606/1995 on multi-finance firms.

According to the regulation, a multi-finance firm can own no more than 25 percent of any company's equity and this share may not exceed 40 percent of its own capital.

"As a holding company, this limitation will not apply to us," he said.

He said PT Bakrie Finance Corporation's shareholders had also approved a plan to acquire 75 percent of PT Asemka Pratama Leasing Indonesia, and increase its share holding in PT Asuransi Jiwa Bakrie from 19 percent to 89.86 percent.

The shareholders also approved management's plan to conduct a feasibility study on the possibility of cooperating with Maybank Finance Berhard in consumer finance.

He said his company also planned to set up a joint venture company with Real Estate Indonesia (REI), an association of Indonesian developers, to provide mortgages.

PT Bakrie Finance Corp. would have a 75 percent stake in the joint venture. The joint venture would start with Rp 10 billion in capital, but gradually increase this to Rp 50 billion, he said.

Mustafa said the acquisitions and the new company would be funded by the Bakrie Finance Corporation's equity.

In the first 11 months of this year, the company made a Rp 15 billion net profit, compared to Rp 10 billion for the same period last year.

Bakrie Finance Corporation has three subsidiaries: Bank Nusa Internasional, Bakrie Securities and Asuransi Jiwa Bakrie.

The company hopes to raise its equity from Rp 240 billion to Rp 500 billion next year. It also expects to make a consolidated pre-tax profit of Rp 46 billion this year, mostly from Bank Nusa Internasional. (bnt)