Bidders for Lippo "not credible": IBRA

Bidders for Lippo "not credible": IBRA

JAKARTA: The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) said it isn't likely to go ahead with its plan to sell a 52 percent stake in PT Bank Lippo as the three consortia bidding for the bank's stake are "not credible," with none of them led by a large commercial bank.

IBRA Chairman Syafruddin Temenggung said late Tuesday that the agency has asked each consortium to include a new large and credible commercial bank to lead the bidding.

Syafruddin said IBRA will give the consortia until Oct. 23 to do so. "Otherwise we won't insist on selling (the stake)," he said. "Each consortium only consists of small banks. We want a credible partner that can develop Bank Lippo."

IBRA had planned to name the winning bidder early next month.

The agency last month received preliminary non-binding bids from three consortia for the Bank Lippo stake.

The first consortium is Eurocapital Asia Ltd., which includes the Philippines' Export and Industry Bank, among others. The second, Summit Investment Ltd., includes Asia Financial Holdings Ltd. and Platinum Investments Holdings Ltd. The third is Swissasia Global, which includes Swissfirst Bank AG and VP Ventures Ltd. -- Dow Jones