Bank Universal plans to offer shares to public

JAKARTA (JP): PT Bank Universal, PT Astra International's financial services flagship, plans to float 300 million new shares to the public next month through local stock exchanges to raise Rp 150 billion (US$51.7 million) in fresh funds.

The planned public offering of Universal's shares will be underwritten by PT SBC Warburg Indonesia.

But the planned offering could be delayed if the market was still in the doldrums, SBC Warburg president Renee Zecha said.

"We are confident this market volatility is only temporary. But when the market situation is not optimal for Universal to go public, we will review it," Renee told journalists after a public presentation.

Renee was optimistic the market would regain its confidence and strength soon as domestic investors had played a significant role in the market.

"We will target domestic investors first as they are becoming more prominent in the market, especially following the establishment of various mutual funds," she said.

The share offering period is planned for Sept. 15 to Sept. 17 and the listing of the shares on both the Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges will be on Oct. 6.

As the market has not yet stabilized, Renee said, she could not give any indication about the price nor price earning ratio of the shares to be offered to the public.

Bank Universal president Stephen Z. Satyadi also refused to say how much funds his bank expected to raise from the public. He only said the proceeds would be used to strengthen the bank's operation.

But a report by SBC Warburg distributed to investors at yesterday's public presentation revealed that the floating of 300 million new shares would generate 150 billion in fresh funds.

Bank Universal, established in 1990 following the consolidation of two ailing banks: Bank Perkembangan Asia and Bank Kredit Universal, recorded total assets of Rp 4.3 trillion as of the end of last June.

It recorded a net profit of Rp 21.9 billion last year, an increase from Rp 14.5 billion in 1995.

Jerry Ng, a director at Bank Universal, said his bank had predicted a net profit of Rp 43 billion this year and Rp 90 billion next year.

"Even if we don't disburse any single loan in the second semester of this year, we can still book a Rp 43 billion net profit for this year as we have formed a cushion to achieve it," Jerry said.

As of the end of this year's first semester, Bank Universal had disbursed Rp 3.6 trillion in loans and collected third party funds of Rp 3.4 trillion.

Of the total credits, 23 percent was in the trading sector, 23 percent in the industrial sector, 17 percent in property, 15 percent in services, 5 percent in transportation, 5 percent in construction and 12 percent in other sectors.

Bank Universal is currently 95 percent controlled by Astra International and 5 percent by PT Prahabima.

Last June, Universal's shareholders agreed to convert subordination loans of Rp 130 billion into equity and injected Rp 70 billion in fresh funds to the bank to strengthen its capital.

With the converted loans to equity and new fresh funds, the bank currently has a paid-up capital of Rp 352.07 billion.

After going public, Astra will control the bank by 66.6 percent, Prahabima will hold 3.5 percent and the public will hold 29.9 percent. (rid)