Consortium negotiating for troubled Bank Pacific

JAKARTA (JP): A consortium comprising the Bakrie, ALatieF and Pentasena groups is negotiating with the shareholders of troubled Bank Pacific on the terms for a takeover.

The consortium said Bank Pacific, after being acquired, would be managed by Bank Nusa International, a Bakrie Group affiliate.

The president of Bank Nusa, Bangun S. Kusmulyono, said the consortium was waiting for the green light from the central bank, Bank Indonesia.

"Bank Nusa has been giving advice to the consortium on the best process to take over the bank. For our part, we are preparing the management team to manage Bank Pacific," Kusmulyono said.

He said Bank Indonesia, which is also Bank Pacific's majority shareholder, had not made any decision about the consortium's offer to salvage Bank Pacific.

The central bank has 51 percent of Bank Pacific.

The remaining 49 percent is held by the bank's founder Ibnu Sutowo, the former president of state oil firm Pertamina.

Meanwhile, economist Sjahrir said Bank Indonesia should liquidate Bank Pacific to minimize losses because all investors wanting to salvage the bank had asked for facilities from the central bank, including liquidity credits.

Kusmulyono would not say whether the consortium had asked the central bank for liquidity credits.

He said the consortium had commitments from Malaysian investors to provide ample funds to inject fresh life into Bank Pacific.

The Bakrie group's chairman, Aburizal Bakrie, has said the consortium would not ask for liquidity credits.

Bank Pacific was on the brink of collapse in late 1995 because of bad loans and the central bank bailed it out.

The bank's bad loans are estimated at Rp 2.1 trillion (US$876 million). At the end of 1995 its total assets were estimated at Rp 2.2 trillion.

Most of the bad debts were incurred by PT Pacific International Finance, a company owned by Endang Utari Mokodompit -- the bank's former president and Ibnu Sutowo's daughter.

As part of its efforts to salvage Bank Pacific, the central bank has offered the bank to several investors, including Bank Danamon, which has experience in acquiring troubled banks.

But Bank Danamon, facing tough opposition form several high- ranking officials, withdrew from the takeover battle. Bank Nusa was then called in to help salvage the bank.

Bank Nusa also has experience in helping ailing banks, namely Bank Nasional. Bank Nasional, which has its main office in Bukit Tinggi, West Sumatra, is in the process of buying Bank Perniagaan.

Sources said Bank Indonesia opposed the idea of Bank Nusa, with total assets of only 1.5 trillion, buying Bank Pacific which has assets of over Rp 2 trillion, even though most of its assets were in bad loans.

Bakrie then formed a consortium to take over Bank Pacific before entrusting Bank Nusa to manage it. (rid)