BII expects soaring net profit in '03

BII expects soaring net profit in '03

JAKARTA: Nationalized PT Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) expects its net profit to rise to Rp 275 billion (US$31.2 million) this year from Rp 128 billion in 2002, the bank's chief executive said Friday.

The bank plans to provide Rp 2.9 trillion in new loans this year after the government injected over Rp 4 trillion in July 2002 to boost the bank's capital base, BII's Chief Executive Sigit Pramono told Dow Jones. The new loans will increase its outstanding credit to Rp 8.62 trillion.

New loans, however, are expected to drag the bank's capital adequacy ratio to 23 percent at the end of this year from 33 percent at the end of last year, he said. -- Dow Jones