BII hopes for Rp 967b from rights issue

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) expects to raise about Rp 967 billion (US$408 million) from a planned rights issue.

BII president Indra Widjaja said yesterday the rights shares would be sold to existing shareholders in early January and listed on the Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges on Jan. 16.

The rights shares, each with a nominal value of Rp 500, would be sold for Rp 750, he said,

Indra said shareholders would be eligible to buy 18 new shares and get four free warrants, valued at Rp 1,000, for every 27 shares.

BII, a subsidiary of the widely diversified Sinar Mas Group, would use around 70 percent of the proceeds from the rights issue to strengthen its capital structure.

"We hope to raise the bank's capital adequacy ratio to 12 percent from 9 percent at present," said Indra, the son of tycoon Eka Tjipta, after an extraordinary shareholders meeting.

He said 30 percent of the proceeds would be used to raise the equity of BII's subsidiaries, finance the opening of new branches and improve the bank's service.

BII's assistant to the corporate secretary, Gusti Samil, said the bank planned to open 16 branches and hundreds of automated teller machines nationwide next year.

The extraordinary shareholders meeting accepted the resignation of vice president Okkie A.T. Monterie, who has got a job with BII's holding company, PT Sinar Mas Group. The meeting did not elect his replacement.

BII's board of directors consists of Indra Widjaja as president and Ronnie Sujanto, D.S. Surianingrat, Suryadi Purnama, Liesda Budiman and Yuli Soedargo as directors.

Indra projected the bank would make a Rp 260 billion net profit this year.

BII booked a Rp 214 billion net profit between January and September, up from Rp 152 billion for the same period last year.

BII's total assets were worth Rp 14 trillion at the end of September, up from Rp 11 trillion in September last year. (04)