Farallon pays rest of BCA stake

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

U.S. investment firm Farallon Capital Management has finalized payment for a 51 percent stake in Bank Central Asia (BCA) on Friday, according to a spokeswoman at Farallon's local unit Farindo Investment Limited.

"We've transferred the money to an escrow account at Bank Indonesia," Farallon's spokeswoman here Fetty Azizah said without disclosing the amount.

Farallon paid on Friday the second installment for BCA's 21 percent stake that could be worth around US$220 million.

Officials at the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) could not be reached to confirm the payment.

IBRA sold the 51 percent stake in BCA to Farallon last month.

On March 28, Farallon paid the first 30 percent stake at an estimated value of $320 million as part of a two step-sale process tied to an option that would have expired by December 31.

The government expected to earn Rp 5.3 trillion (about $550 million) from the sale, assuming an exchange rate of 9,905 to the U.S. dollar.

The continued slide of the dollar, however, means IBRA has received less than the target.

On Friday the rupiah climbed to 9,560 against the dollar, a significant jump from 9,875 a week before, and 9,978 when BCA was sold.

BCA was once the country's largest privately owned retail bank before IBRA took it over following a bail out program for banks.

The bank's sale capped nearly two years of efforts to sell BCA to a strategic investor, bogged down by political interference and unfavorable market conditions.

IBRA is selling off state assets to help plug the 2002 state budget's deficit estimated at Rp 42 trillion.

The agency nationalized a number of local banks, some of which it plans to sell off starting this year.

Next on the block is Bank Niaga, followed by Bank Lippo, Bank Danamon and Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII).