BCA sale expected in 3rd week of December
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.