Deadline extended for BCA bidders
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) has extended a deadline, for the Bank Central Asia (BCA) divestment bidders to hand over their final bids, until Jan. 28 next year from the initial schedule of Dec. 21.
The deadline extension means that the nine shortlisted strategic partners will have extra time to complete the necessary documents for the purchase.
As a consequence however, the government's plan to divest its 51 percent stake in the country's largest bank by the end of the year will not materialize.
As stated in a press release, IBRA's decision was made due to the requests from most of the bidders as well as consultation from its financial advisors.
PT Danareksa Sekuritas, Merrill Lynch Pte. Ltd. and Deloitte and Touche are currently serving as the financial advisors for the divestment program of the bank, formerly belonging to the Salim Group, which was the country's largest conglomerate prior to the economic crisis.
The government, through IBRA, took over the bank in 1998 at the peak of the regional financial crisis due to the bank's failure to repay its huge debt to the government.
In a bid to bail out the country's banking system, the government injected billions of dollars worth of recapitalization bonds to the country's ailing banks, including BCA.
But, BCA has reportedly channeled most of the funds to its affiliates, breaching the legal lending limit regulation.
A huge amount of additional funds were also disbursed by the government to the bank to repay depositors amid massive runs.
Following the take over, the Salim Group handed over some 100 companies to IBRA to repay the government.
Meanwhile, a Bank Indonesia (BI) senior official said on Sunday that investors who wanted to buy the bank should not only have sufficient funds but also must be willing to engage in technology transfer.
"We do not only need money," BI's senior deputy governor Anwar Nasution said on the sidelines of an Idul Fitri gathering over the weekend, as reported by Antara.
He added that the ideal buyer should be committed to transferring technology, improving skills, shifting corporate culture and restoring investor confidence.