IBRA exceeds 2001 target
Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) said on Thursday that it had raised a total of Rp 27.98 trillion (about US$2.7 billion) in cash and Rp 10.6 trillion worth of recapitalized bonds, slightly exceeding its target for this year's state budget.
IBRA chief I Putu Gde Ary Suta told a press conference on Thursday that the agency had fulfilled its duty in terms of asset sales, at least for this year.
"Up to today, IBRA has delivered 27.98 trillion rupiah in cash to the state," Ary Suta said.
"Despite the harsh criticisms that we have had to endure, we're glad that we have finally finished the job for this year," he added.
The agency has been the target of criticisms for its slow progress on asset sales, raising concerns that it might be unable to meet the cash target needed to help plug the state budget deficit.
Set up in 1998, IBRA controls over Rp 600 trillion worth of assets transferred by indebted bank owners and closed and recapitalized banks, and is mandated to restructure and sell those assets.
Banks handed over their nonperforming loans to IBRA in exchange for recapitalization bonds.
According to Ary Suta, the proceeds were mostly generated by the agency's Asset Management Credit (AMC) division, Asset Management Investment (AMI) division, and the Bank Restructuring Unit (BRU).
Of the total earnings, Rp 11.67 trillion came from the sale of assets under the supervision of PT Holdiko Perkasa, a holding company set up by the agency to oversee the assets formerly belonging to the Salim Group.
As for next year, IBRA will be relying on the sale of assets within the AMC division, which has been targeted to raise some Rp 22.21 trillion from its core assets disposal, or around 52 percent of the agency's target of Rp 42.8 trillion in cash and bonds.
Other major contributors will be the sale of assets within the AMI division, including the sale of several parent companies under PT Holdiko Perkasa and PT Bentala Kartika Abadi.
In the banking sector, aside from the long-stalled Bank Central Asia (BCA) divestment, IBRA will also pin its hopes on the sales of Bank Niaga, Bank Danamon and Bank Lippo.
IBRA was supposed to have completed the sale of BCA and Bank Niaga this year, but had to delay the process due to the current weak market conditions and a protracted debate with legislators.