BRI plans 30% stake offering in 3Q

BRI plans 30% stake offering in 3Q

JAKARTA : State-owned PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia, or BRI, plans to sell a 30 percent stake via an initial public offering in the third quarter of the year, a bank executive said Monday.

BRI's president director Rudjito told Dow Jones Newswires that some of the proceeds from the IPO will go to the state coffers and it will use the remaining proceeds to strengthen its capital base.

He declined to mention how much it expects to raise from the IPO.

He also said BRI's net profit is expected to rise to Rp 1.6 trillion this year from Rp 1.5 trillion last year.

The retail bank plans to channel Rp 8 trillion into new loans this year, he added.

BRI also plans to issue between Rp 1 trillion and Rp 2 trillion of subordinated bonds in the first half of the year to improve its capital base.

BRI is one of several state-owned companies the government plans to sell this year to raise Rp 8 trillion in funds, in a bid to reduce the budget deficit. Other companies include PT Bank Mandiri, the country's largest bank, and pharmaceutical company PT Indofarma. --Dow Jones