IBRA aims to collect $3.3b in 2000 fiscal year

IBRA aims to collect $3.3b in 2000 fiscal year

JAKARTA (JP): Despite its slowness in achieving revenue target
for the current budget year, the Indonesian Bank Restructuring
Agency (IBRA) has set an ambitious target of Rp 24.7 trillion
(US$3.3 billion) from asset sales and loan recoveries for the
2000 fiscal year beginning in April.

IBRA chairman Cacuk Sudarijanto said at a hearing with the
House of Representatives' Commission IX on banking and finance
that the agency was confident of surpassing the government-set
target of Rp 16.2 trillion for the nine-month 2000 budget.

"With support from all of you (legislators), we are confident
we can raise that amount of money to help the government finance
its budget deficit," he said.

Cacuk said the agency's asset management investment unit
(AMI), whose main responsibility is selling IBRA stakes in
companies under its control, should contribute about Rp 9.5
trillion for year 2000.

The agency's asset management credit (AMC) unit, which mostly
collects principle and interest payments from debtors under IBRA
control, should collect Rp 13.9 trillion.

The agency also expects to collect about Rp 1.15 trillion from
other sources, including from auctions of non-core assets.

Cacuk also said the agency was also confident of achieving the
government-set target of Rp 17 trillion for the current budget
year, ending in March 31.

The agency had so far earned Rp 10.5 trillion from assets
sales and loan recoveries, he said. However, IBRA deputy chairman
Arwin Rasyid said earlier that the agency had raised more than Rp
12 trillion.

An official at IBRA said this discrepancy resulted from the
interpretation of data. Cacuk's figure, the official said, covers
only the actual money already held by IBRA.

Meanwhile, IBRA deputy chairman for asset management credit
unit (AMC) Eko S. Budianto said his unit had thus far contributed
a total of Rp 5.2 trillion, of which Rp 5 trillion had come from
principal and interest payments from debtors under its control
and Rp 222.7 billion from recent auctions of non-core assets.

He said his AMC unit would have to collect Rp 200 billion more
to reach the target for the unit of Rp 5.4 trillion.

"I'm confident we are very likely to reach that figure," he
said after the hearing.

The AMC unit, Eko said, collected Rp 385 billion in January
alone.

Meanwhile, Dasa Sutanto, a group head at the asset management
investment unit, said that AMI contributed Rp 3.6 trillion to the
agency, mostly from sales of IBRA stakes in various companies
pledged by owners of banks taken over by the agency or closed
down by the government.

The AMI unit is set to contribute the largest sum to IBRA from
sales of assets under its control. It is still about Rp 6
trillion short of the target.

Because of the unit's slowness in selling assets, the
government last week replaced Farid Harianto as AMI chief with
Mahmuddin Yasin.

The AMI unit has targeted collecting about Rp 6 trillion from
sales of IBRA stakes in automaker PT Astra International and in
Bank Central Asia (BCA).

IBRA is aiming to float BCA's stocks on the Jakarta Stock
Exchange (JSX) in March, and expects to raise about Rp 3
trillion.

The exchange's management has given its clearance for BCA to
conduct an initial public offering of shares, despite the fact
that it booked a huge loss last year.

Under JSX's prevailing rules, only companies that have booked
profits for the past two years are eligible to offer shares
through the exchange.

IBRA, however, has had difficulties selling its 45 percent
stake in Astra, which the agency expects to sell for about Rp 3
trillion.

In a move to expedite sales of its stake in Astra, IBRA
removed Astra president Rini Soewandi on Thursday and appointed
former Astra president Theodore Rachmat to replace her through an
extraordinary shareholders meeting.

IBRA has accused the Rini-led management team of obstructing
the sale process of IBRA's stake in Astra to a U.S. investor
consortium.

With the change in Astra's management, IBRA is aiming to sell
Astra's stake by March 25. (rid)