IBRA hands over Rp 4.7 trillion in cash to govt

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) has transferred in cash to the government Rp 4.7 trillion out of about Rp 10.5 trillion raised by the agency since April last year.

IBRA deputy chairman Arwin Rasyid said on Friday that the agency would transfer the remainder to the state coffers by the end of this month.

"IBRA has raised Rp 10.5 trillion, of which Rp 4.7 trillion has been given in cash to the government," Arwin said.

The agency has so far earned Rp 10.5 trillion from asset sales and loan recoveries. It initially expected to raise a total of Rp 17 trillion from the sale of assets under its control in the fiscal year ending in March.

Arwin said IBRA was still trying to achieve the above target, but did not want to do it through a fire sale.

"We are still calculating. The important thing is that we do not allow a fire sale only to achieve the Rp 17 trillion target for the current fiscal year," he said.

IBRA, with the Rp 10.5 trillion in hand, initially planned to fill the Rp 6.5 trillion gap to reach the Rp 17 trillion target by selling its stakes in automaker PT Astra International at an expected price of Rp 3.5 trillion and in Bank Central Asia (BCA) at Rp 3 trillion through initial public offerings (IPO).

But due to technicalities, the planned IPO of BCA was delayed until April to support the next fiscal year instead.

IBRA, which controls assets worth over Rp 600 trillion put up by small to large-scale companies as collateral for their massive unpaid debts, hinted it would sell other assets to replace the planned sale of BCA.

Arwin said the Rp 3 trillion figure expected to be raised from BCA's IPO was not yet certain.

"It is not that easy. It could be Rp 2 trillion, Rp 3 trillion or more," he said.

There were some factors affecting the value of BCA shares, Arwin said, adding that IBRA would soon go on a road show to meet potential investors in New York, Singapore and Hong Kong.

He said BCA's audited financial statement as of December 1999, which is soon to be completed, was also a factor in BCA's evaluation by potential investors.

"Foreign investors will also evaluate the prospect of BCA in relation to Indonesia's country risk, economic fundamentals and stock market condition," he said.

IBRA, which is under the finance ministry, took over BCA last year after its owners, the Salim Group and a number of former president Soeharto's children, failed to repay the bank's debts to the government.

BCA is one of the country's largest private banks with total assets amounting to some Rp 84.4 trillion and some 767 branches throughout the country. (udi)