Bakrie sets up capital firm

JAKARTA (JP): The Bakrie Group has formed a venture capital company, PT Bakrie Modal Ventura, to support its small and medium business and cooperatives assistance program.

Bakrie Group's president, Tanri Abeng, said Monday that Bakrie Modal Ventura would be supported by the group's three holding firms -- PT Bakrie Finance Corporation, PT Bakrie & Brothers and PT Bakrie Investindo -- and its other firms.

The new company would help finance small and medium businesses and cooperatives which cooperate with Bakrie Group affiliates under its special partnership program, he said.

The partnership program was now coordinated by Yayasan Bina Mitra Bakrie, he said.

Yayasan Bina Mitra Bakrie's secretary-general, Andy J. Soedarso, said that at the end of 1996, 12,977 small and medium businesses and cooperatives were cooperating with Bakrie Group's companies under the partnership program involving Rp 192.67 billion (US$78.8 million).

"We hope the number will increase to 17,240 with funds of Rp 401.57 billion by the end of this year," he said.

He said the funds were if the form of capital or loans from BankNusa.

A Bakrie Group spokesman, Lalu Mara Satriawangsa, said BankNusa aslo signed an agreement Monday with Koperasi Taksi Indonesia, under which the bank would provide loans with a 14 percent per annum interest rate to buy taxi cabs.

The bank will loan Rp 12.35 billion for the taxis, 35 percent from its own assets and 65 percent from Bank Indonesia. (13)