Fadel to go ahead with plan to take over GKG

JAKARTA (JP): The chairman of the Bukaka group, Fadel Muhammed, will go ahead with his plan to take over the assets of the bankrupt Golden Key Group (GKG) despite rumors that he faces financial difficulties in doing so.

Fadel said he was optimistic that state-owned Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo), which controls Golden Key Group's assets, would eventually allow his new company, PT Serang Industri Utama, to buy and run the idle assets.

"Our experience and management capabilities will help us to restore and operate the Golden Key Group's assets," Fadel said after attending the opening of the ASEAN Chamber of Commerce and Industry annual meeting.

But Fadel did not say where he would raise the money to finance the takeover.

He said earlier PT Serang would pay the group's debts to state banks within 20 years with a five-year grace period.

He had also said he had commitments from foreign financial sources and would invite other investors, including President Soeharto's youngest son, Hutomo Mandala Putra, to join his plan.

But sources said Fadel faced difficulties convincing foreign financial sources and would probably resort to Bapindo or other state banks which had also channeled credits to Golden Key Group.

The Minister of Finance, Mar'ie Muhammad, said Monday investors wanting to take over Golden Key Group's assets must be financially strong enough to do so without further burdening Bapindo.

Golden Key Group's assets, mostly chemical factories in Cilegon, West Java, have been idle since 1994 when the government jailed the group's former owner, Eddy Tansil, for manipulating Rp 1.4 trillion (US$580 million) in loans, mostly from Bapindo.

Other banks extending credits to Tansil included four state- owned banks: Bank Bumi Daya, Bank Negara Indonesia 1946, Bank Exim and Bank Dagang Negara.

Tansil escaped from jail in Jakarta on May 4 last year and is still at large.

Mar'ie said Golden Key Group's assets had been long deserted and their value was decreasing. In addition, some of its factory machinery was second-hand.

He said the value of the idle assets might be less than Rp 700 billion.

Many foreign investors were interested in buying the assets but withdrew from negotiations with Bapindo after realizing the assets real value was well below their book value, Mar'ie said.

The chairman of the Bakrie Group, Aburizal Bakrie, said Bapindo should consider seriously Fadel's offer because many investors had failed to take over the assets.

"My group was the first business offered the assets. After studying it, I decided to withdraw because I thought I would not be able to make it better," Aburizal said.

"Thus, Bapindo should think about Fadel's offer and thank him because so far it is only Fadel who has expressed any serious intention of saving the assets," he said.

The Econit research group has questioned the way the government and Bapindo are transferring Golden Key's assets to private investors.

It has demanded transparency in the handling state banks' bad debts, including the selling of seized assets. (rid)