IBRA says 19 investors interested in Bank Niaga
IBRA says 19 investors interested in Bank Niaga
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) I
Putu Gede Ary Suta said on Wednesday there were 19 investors
which had expressed interest in purchasing the government's 51
percent stake in the publicly listed Bank Niaga.
He said that nearly half of the prospective investors were
foreign firms.
"The latest number we have is 19, of which 11 are domestic
investors," Ary Suta told reporters on the sidelines of a hearing
with legislators.
An IBRA document available to reporters lists investors as
including names like Bakti Capital, Rifan, Newbridge Capital,
Saratoga, ANZ Panin Bank, GKBI and SG Securities.
However, Ary Suta refused to confirm the seven names.
The government, which nationalized the bank via IBRA in the
late 1990s and currently controls a 97.15 percent stake, hopes to
be able to complete the divestment of Bank Niaga shares in June
this year.
Like the newly concluded Bank Central Asia (BCA) sale, the
sale of Bank Niaga is seen as a crucial part of efforts to
revitalize the ailing banking sector and to raise cash to help
finance the state budget deficit.
The divestment of government ownership in nationalized and
recapitalized banks is part of the economic reform program agreed
upon with the International Monetary Fund, which is providing a
multibillion dollar bailout loan for the country.
Delaying the program would only hurt investor confidence in
the economy.
IBRA has said that it also plans to sell government shares in
several other banks this year.
Efforts have been made to help lure investors into Bank Niaga.
The government has decided to convert 40 percent of fixed-rate
recapitalization bonds in Bank Niaga into bonds carrying variable
rates linked to Bank Indonesia benchmark rate.
The bank currently holds Rp 9.2 trillion worth of bonds,
injected by the government in late 1990s to finance the bank's
recapitalization program.
Elsewhere, Ary Suta also said that an info memo, consisting of
information on the bank, would be distributed to interested
bidders between March 22 and March 28.
"As for the deadline of the preliminary bid, it has been set
for April 12," Putu added.
The agency is targeted to collect Rp 42.8 trillion (some US$40
billion) from the sale of state assets this year, to help plug
state budget deficit projected at 2.5 percent of gross domestic
product.
Bank Niaga managed to book Rp 41.1 billion in net profit as of
Dec. 30 last year, the first positive balance sheet since the
devastating 1997-1998 financial crisis.
The bank's capital adequacy ratio (CAR), as of December, stood
at 18.7 percent while its non-performing loans reached 9.75
percent.
PT Trimegah Securities and Kartini Mulyadi and Partners are
acting as financial and legal advisors, respectively, for the
Bank Niaga sale process.