Danareksa denies merger plan

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned investment bank PT Danareksa said yesterday that reports of an impending merger with another state- owned investment bank, PT Bahana Pembinaan Usaha Indonesia, were unture.

"The Office of the State Minister of the Empowerment of State Enterprises has not proposed merging Danareksa and Bahana," Danareksa's corporate secretary, Ticke S. Soekrani, told the media yesterday.

He was commenting on earlier reports that the two investment firms would be merged into an independent entity to boost efficiency.

Witjaksono Abadiman, president of PT Bahana Securities, a unit of Bahana, said last week that the merger was being prepared. (rei)