IBRA finalizes property sale program

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) is expected to announce on Monday the winning bidders in its last property asset sale program.

"After an evaluation process, IBRA will announce the winning bidders on Jan. 26, 2004," agency spokesman Rohan Hafas said over the weekend.

Some 1,618 property units have been on offer since early this month. IBRA has set a total floor price of Rp 1.63 trillion (US$194 million) for these assets, which are in the form of houses, hotels, apartments, warehouses, buildings and land.

IBRA, set up in early 1998 by the government, took over various forms of assets from troubled banks and former bank owners. The agency is mandated to sell the assets to raise cash to help finance the state budget, which has been heavily burdened by the cost of the government bank bailout program. IBRA will be closed down on February 27.

IBRA has previously sold more than 4,000 property assets with a recovery rate of more than 100 percent.

While IBRA's property asset sale program has been relatively successful, the agency has been strongly criticized for its other asset sale programs, particularly as regards the sale of non- performing loans in the banking sector.

Some analysts suspect that many of the loan assets were purchased by the original debtors at huge discounts.

There has been rising calls for the Supreme Audit Agency to conduct an investigative audit into all transactions conducted by IBRA.