Fadel to go ahead with plan to take over GKG
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)