Holdiko asks court to overturn KPPU's ruling
The Jakarta Post Jakarta
The trial against the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) over its recent ruling on alleged involvement of PT Holdiko Perkasa in the Indomobil scandal kicked off on Wednesday, with the holding company asking the court to overturn the ruling.
Lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, who represents the company, said in a trial at the South Jakarta District Court that Holdiko did not violate the law on monopoly practices in the high profile tender of Indomobil.
It was the first hearing after Holdiko last month filed an appeal to challenge KPPU's ruling which found the company guilty of being involved in a conspiracy to allow a consortium led by PT Trimegah Securities to win the Indomobil stake late last year.
The anti-monopoly watchdog imposed a Rp 5 billion (US$575 million) fine on the company. KPPU also charged consulting firm PT Deloitte & Touche, Tohmatsu FAS (DTT) and Trimegah Securities.
The Indomobil controversy erupted when the government, through the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA), sold last year its 72.63 percent shares in PT Indomobil Sukses Internasional, the country's second largest automaker, to a consortium led by Trimegah.
The consortium paid Rp 625 billion for the stake, far below the actual value of the company when it was transferred to IBRA in 1998. At that time the company was valued at around Rp 2.14 trillion.
Holdiko, a holding company set up by IBRA to sell the assets formerly belonging to the Salim Group, was acting on behalf of the agency while DTT acted as the financial advisor for IBRA.
Such low proceeds, coupled with the short period of the transactions, raised concerns that irregularities had taken place during the process. The whole tender process was completed in less than two weeks.
Responding to the wide range of calls, KPPU then launched an investigation. In May, the commission announced the results and confirmed that irregularities had occurred and that all parties involved would have to pay penalties.