FSPC won't delay Bank Niaga sale

FSPC won't delay Bank Niaga sale

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Financial Sector Policy Committee (FSPC) said in a statement
on Tuesday that the planned sale of the government's 51 percent
stake in medium-sized Bank Niaga would not be delayed.

It said that the final bid deadline would remain May 27.

"In a meeting on Friday, the Indonesian Bank Restructuring
Agency (IBRA) reported the progress of the Bank Niaga divestment
and it stated that bidders will submit their final bids according
to schedule," the FSPC was quoted by Reuters as saying.

The FSPC groups several senior economic ministers and has the
final say on the country's major bank restructuring program.

The statement followed remarks made by the deputy chairman of
the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA), I Nyoman Sender,
on Monday that the agency would not proceed with the sale plan if
the bids were much lower than the market price.

Nyoman said preliminary bids from the four short-listed
bidders were in the range of Rp 15 to Rp 25. The bank's shares
were quoted at Rp 80 on Monday.

The government, through IBRA, holds 97.15 percent in publicly
listed Bank Niaga.

The divestment of government shares in the bank is part of the
country's economic reform program agreed with the International
Monetary Fund and is seen as a key asset sale this year that has
been long awaited by investors.

The four bidders eying Bank Niaga include consortia, each led
by Australia's ANZ Banking Group Ltd., Malaysian financial group
Commerce Asset Holdings Berhad, and two local bidders, Bank
Victoria International and Batavia Investment Fund.

The sale of the Bank Niaga stake would also raise cash to help
finance the 2002 state budget deficit.