Bank Bali, Makro sign agreement

JAKARTA (JP): Bank Bali agreed yesterday to provide factoring facilities to suppliers of Makro, a major wholesaler company, a move that will help many small-scale traders and companies.

Under the deal, Bank Bali will take over the payments by Makro to suppliers and will pay up to 80 percent of the account receivables in advance.

An agreement was signed by Hendra Firmansjah, a director of Bank Bali and Viviyanti Ashali, a finance director of PT Karabha Unggul (Makro) which operates Makro outlets in Indonesia.

A separate agreement was signed between Bank Bali and representatives of the Kramat Jati Central Market Cooperative and PT Triganna Mandiri Bakti, a suppliers organization.

Factoring facilities will help suppliers bolster their working capital, Hermansjah said.

"We were drawn to this agreement because, apart from facilitating suppliers in administration and collection, this is in line with Makro's policy to support cooperatives and small enterprises," Karabha Unggul's vice president Sigit Nugraha said.

Sigit pointed to Bina Mitra Usaha, a division in his company established to support the development of small companies and traders among its suppliers.

According to publicly listed Bank Bali, the scheme, known as Bali Anjak Piutang, is offered to individuals or corporations whose businesses are not subject to seasonal fluctuations and have continuous production every month. It is given for credit with periods ranging from 14 to 180 days. (08)