Bambang to take over Summa's assets

Bambang to take over Summa's assets

JAKARTA (JP): Bank Indonesia, the central bank, confirmed yesterday that President Soeharto's son Bambang Trihatmodjo and Johannes Kotjo have formally proposed to take over the remaining assets of the dissolved Bank Summa.

The central bank said that negotiations on the proposed purchase of the assets by Bambang and his partner are still underway.

Bank Indonesia and the liquidation team of Bank Summa are still assessing the proposal, the central bank said in statement. It did not disclose details of the takeover plan, however.

A thorough assessment on the takeover proposal is needed so that the offer will not create new problems, the statement said.

Bank Summa, formerly owned by William Soerjadjaja, was suspended in 1992 for its failure to meet financial obligations. Large parts of the bank's assets had been sold to repay depositors' money. But the bank's debts to the central bank and other local financial institutions, amounting to around Rp 605 billion (US$275 million) remain unpaid.

The central bank did not explain the latest value of Bank Summa's remaining assets but analysts put it at around Rp 950 billion, mostly in the form of loans.

A number of local businessmen earlier proposed to buy the bank's remaining assets, including a large housing complex in Surabaya, East Java, and a number of properties as well as a modern hospital in Jakarta.

One of the takeover bids was made by Bambang's sister Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana in 1994 but she later withdrew her offer for undisclosed reasons.

Bambang said on Wednesday that he and his partner are ready to take over both the assets and liabilities of Bank Summa, which is now in the process of liquidation.

"We are only waiting for the central bank's approval," he was quoted by Merdeka daily as saying. He added that all matters regarding the valuation of the bank's assets and liability had been settled. (hen)