IBRA expects Rp 4 trillion in Salim asset sales
Berni K. Moestafa The Jakarta Post Jakarta
Sales of assets formerly owned by the Salim Group may generate between Rp 3 trillion (about US$288 million) and Rp 4 trillion for the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA), as the agency hopes to sell off the remaining jewels among Salim's assets.
IBRA deputy chairman for Asset Management Investment (AMI), Dasa Sutantio said however, it was difficult to expect more out of the Salim assets.
"It's unlikely that we will be able to get half of our (asset sales) target from Salim," Dasa told reporters after a briefing on the sale of Salim's PT Indomobil Sukses Makmur.
AMI aims to sell Rp 8.4 trillion in assets this year to contribute to the financing of the 2002 state budget deficit.
It has thus far been relying heavily on the sale of the former assets of Salim Group, which rank among the most valuable under IBRA.
Among them, have been Salim's large plantations in Sumatra, television broadcasting company PT Indosiar Visual Mandiri and Indomobil.
Salim surrendered its assets to IBRA in exchange for the agency's bail out of its ailing Bank Central Asia (BCA) at the height of the economic crisis in 1998.
Thereafter, some Rp 52 trillion worth of Salim assets switched ownership.
Handling the sale of Salim assets is PT Holdiko Perkasa, which is Salim Group company managed in conjunction with IBRA.
Holdiko has earmarked Salim property assets for sale this year. Among them are the real estates Bumi Serpong Damai, Kota Bukit Indah, Cibinong Center Industrial Estate, and several resorts in Riau, Sumatra.
According to Holdiko finance director Scott Coffey, the top rating assets include Bumi Serpong Damai, Metropolitan Kencana, a textile company, and several Salim resorts in Bintan.
But with most of the more valuable Salim assets already sold, there has been concern IBRA may not be able to sustain large cash inflows from its asset sales.
Dasa said his AMI division was hoping to see some IBRA debtors start settling their debts with cash instead of asset transfers.
Debtors paying in cash, would reduce the need for AMI to sell assets in order to generate cash revenue for its target.
Under the shareholders settlement program, former bank owners who became IBRA debtors are to surrender their assets or pay in cash, to settle their debts.
But asset transfers from the former bankers have been proceeding slowly, and most had yet to start their cash settlements.
According to Dasa, debtors demanded more flexible terms such as an extension to the debt payment period from the current four years to 10 years.
Several of IBRA's largest debtors should be settling their debts this year, according to the original shareholder settlement program.
In response to debtors requests, the government granted the former bankers more flexible debt payment terms, including tolerating a payment period of up to 10 years.
Dasa explained that the actual payment period depended on negotiations with each of the debtors.
But he admitted that getting them to settle their debts before the 10 year limit was difficult, as everyone now knew about IBRA's time limit.