BCA sale expected in 3rd week of December
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) said in a statement on Tuesday that its divestment of Bank Central Asia (BCA) was expected to be finalized in the third week of December.
IBRA said that the selection process considering the 15 preliminary bidders would be concluded at the end of this month.
From the 15 bidders, five are foreign investors, the agency said without disclosing names.
The government is under pressure to complete the divestment of its 51 percent stake in BCA this year to help finance the 2001 state budget deficit.
Some have doubted the key asset divestment program could proceed as scheduled amid weak market conditions.
Earlier reports stated that JP Morgan and Partners, ABN Amro, and Standard Chartered were among the foreign investors bidding for the BCA stake.
The inclusion of world-class bidders has raised optimism that one of the government's key divestment programs may proceed smoothly.
IBRA has been searching for a strategic investor for BCA since last year.
Either unfavorable market conditions or resistance from legislators have so far hampered efforts, causing a headache for the government in its bids to bridge the widening state budget gap.
Some Rp 5 trillion (around US$471.7 million) is expected to be earned through the sale.
Aside from the proceeds, the completion of the BCA sale would also help revive investor confidence in the ailing economy, analysts suggest.
The IBRA statement also said that shortlisted bidders were entitled to carry out due diligence investigations on BCA.
A due diligence investigation would cover aspects of the bank's financial position, management and operations.
BCA was nationalized by the government in 1998 following the regional financial crisis.
The country's largest private bank was previously owned by the giant Salim Group.
There has been speculation that the Salim family had been trying to repurchase the bank although the government had said that the former owner was not allowed to make a bid.