IBRA, Holdiko sell shares in First Pacific

IBRA, Holdiko sell shares in First Pacific

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA)
and PT Holdiko Perkasa have raised HK$394.6 million, equivalent
to Rp 420 billion (about US$47 million), in cash from the sales
of their shares in the Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd.

IBRA said here on Monday that its 143.03 million shares in the
company and Holdiko's 34.45 million shares were sold on Aug. 16
at HK$2.28 per share.

The price represented a 4.8 percent discount to the average
closing prices in the two weeks prior to the placing, it said,
adding that ING Barings had acted as the placing agent for the
transaction.

"We are confident the recent offerings of assets will enable
us to achieve AMI's target of Rp 7.2 trillion by the end of the
fiscal year," Dasa Sutantio, Director of IBRA's Asset Management
Investment (AMI) unit said in a statement.

First Pacific, founded in 1981 in Hong Kong, is a conglomerate
that owns and operates businesses in telecommunications, property
and banking sectors.

It has branches in 15 countries, with primary investments in
Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Hong Kong.

First Pacific was the fifth of Holdiko's assets offered to the
market this year.

The others were shares in PT Astra International early this
year, its offering of Wisma BCA and the 17.25 percent interest in
PT Karimun Granite last month, and last week the 100 percent
interest in Mosquito Coil Group.

Holdiko was established last year in connection with the debt
settlement agreement between the Salim Group and IBRA.

As part of the agreement, the Salim Group transferred shares
and assets in more than 100 companies to Holdiko, which will
subsequently transfer proceeds from the sale of the assets to
IBRA.

Holdiko Director Scott Coffey said the company was preparing
to dispose of a number of other assets and would name them in the
near future.

Separately, IBRA also announced that it has received more than
Rp 24.52 billion from the auction of properties in Bali formerly
owned by Bank Aken, BDNI, Bank Umum Nasional, Bank Mashill and
Bank PSP.

IBRA's Group Head for Non-Core Asset Administration Jimi Hadi
said in a statement that it succeeded in selling 15 of the 17
properties and achieved a price 87 percent higher than estimated.

Later this month, IBRA will auction properties in Semarang,
Central Java; Bandung, West Java; Medan, North Sumatra;
Pontianak, West Kalimantan; Balikpapan, East Kalimantan; and
Manado, North Sulawesi. (10)