Despite changes, show must go on, BCA staff say
Despite changes, show must go on, BCA staff say
JAKARTA (JP): To some people, changes are not that daunting
after all.
At least that is how a couple of Bank Central Asia (BCA)
employees are feeling at the moment as the country's largest
retail bank may change hands to be controlled by a new foreign
owner.
The House of Representatives finally approved late on
Wednesday the government plan to sell a 51 percent stake in the
bank to strategic investors.
The two BCA staff members anticipated that the divestment
program would have a positive effect both for the bank and the
overall economy.
"I don't see why we have to be afraid of all this. New owners
come and go in this business. As long as it can drive the company
toward improvement, then why not?," an account officer of a BCA
branch in Bandung told The Jakarta Post on the condition of
anonymity on Thursday.
"I do not think we're going to need much adjustment to our
public service duties. We're already good at that," the 28-year-
old official added.
"Not to mention that the government will obtain some income
out of the (House's) approval," she said.
Her opinion was echoed by her colleague who worked at a
Central Jakarta branch, saying that it was the top-level
management who had to worry about the changes.
"As for the rest of us, we'll just continue to carry on with
our main duty, which is to serve the public," the 32-year-old
credit analyst, who also refused to be named, said.
Support of the employees will be crucial to ensure the
divestment process goes smoothly.
A high profile attempt by Standard Chartered Plc. in 1999 to
acquire Bank Bali, a local retail bank, failed partly due to
strong resistance from the bank's employees.
An attempt to contact leaders of the bank's employee union was
unsuccessful.
The BCA sale plan is part of a recent agreement between the
government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has
approved the disbursement of a US$395 million loan to Indonesia.
The government expects to be able to raise around Rp 5.2
trillion ($570 million) from the BCA sale.
Late last year, legislators blocked the plan, which prompted
the IMF to suspend its $5 billion loan tranche program to the
country.
Chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) I
Putu Ary Suta said that two strategic investors had submitted
bids for the BCA stake. He declined to name the bidders.
Newbridge Capital and a joint venture between a local
investment company and a Hong Kong firm had reportedly submitted
bids last year.
Recent reports also suggested that international banking
giants including Citibank, ABN Amro and DBS Bank had expressed
interest in BCA.
Legislators have insisted that the 51 percent of BCA stake
should be sold to a highly reputable foreign institution, to
prevent the Salim Group, the founder of the bank, from reentering
the bank.
BCA was nationalized by the government in 1999 in the
aftermath of the Asian financial crisis.
BCA staff now hope that the entry of a new foreign owner will
bring about a higher level of professionalism in the bank,
assuming the new investor is from a respected business group and
has a sound track record.(10)