Bank Bali needs Rp 1.4t for recapitalization

Bank Bali needs Rp 1.4t for recapitalization

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed Bank Bali announced on
Wednesday that its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) was minus 8.17
percent, based on a financial audit conducted by international
auditors.

The bank said that it needed a total of Rp 1.4 trillion to
bring its CAR level to the 4 percent minimum requirement set by
the government.

The government requires all of the country's 200 commercial
banks to have a minimum 4 percent CAR level by the end of this
year. The recapitalization process must be completed by March
1999.

Banks with a CAR level of between minus 25 percent and less
than 4 percent are eligible to join the government bank
recapitalization program, in which the government will provide up
to 80 percent of the funding requirement via the issuance of
bonds.

The government announced recently that 49 private banks were
eligible to join the recapitalization program. These banks must
submit business plans in 30 days to join the program.

Bank Bali president Rudy Ramli said, "We have made our
business plans for up to 2001 and they have been handed over to
Bank Indonesia."

Bank Bali plans to make a rights issue before March 1999 as
part of its recapitalization program.

In the middle of this year, the bank appointed financial
advisor JP Morgan to help in getting foreign strategic investors
to participate in the recapitalization program.

"Out of 12 interested foreign investors, a few big ones have
made further moves. But the results of searching for a strategic
partner are not yet final because the process is not simple,"
Rudy said. (rei)