BII to issue Rp 2t of bonds

BII to issue Rp 2t of bonds

JAKARTA: Nationalized PT Bank Internasional Indonesia plans to issue Rp 2 trillion (US$227 million) of bonds in the second half of this year, an official with the bank said Wednesday.

BII's President Director Sigit Pramono told reporters that the planned bond issuance is part of the bank's measures to switch more financing into longer maturities.

However, he stopped short of revealing the maturity of the bond.

"We are in the middle of selecting underwriters," Sigit said. He added that the bank will select foreign and local underwriters for the issue.

The recent fall in domestic interest rates have encouraged local companies to access the local debt market to raise funds. Such exuberance is expected to help expand the underdeveloped local bond market. -- Dow Jones ;DJ; ANPAf..r.. CorporateBrief-Fubon-HSBC-Danamon Fubon, HSBC bid for Danamon JP/14/Brief

Fubon, HSBC bid for Danamon

SINGAPORE: International and regional financial institutions, including Taiwan's Fubon Financial and HSBC, are among the leading bidders for Indonesia's Bank Danamon, a Singapore newspaper said Wednesday.

The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA), set up in the aftermath of the 1997 financial crisis to salvage the country's battered banking system, is currently seeking a buyer for Bank Danamon, in which it holds a majority stake.

Fubon, one of Taiwan's largest financial services groups, has emerged as a leading contender for Bank Danamon, Indonesia's fifth largest bank, sources told The Business Times daily.

With a market capitalization of US$6.5 billion, and with Citibank as a shareholder, Fubon could provide stiff competition to the other bidders, including the Singapore government's Temasek Holdings.

Seventeen investors are considered likely to make preliminary bids with the 51 percent stake sale to be wound up by late April.