IBRA to sell another six Salim Group assets

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) said it would sell another six assets that it had taken over from the country's former largest conglomerate, the Salim Group, but warned of lower than expected proceeds due to weaker market sentiment since Oct. 12.

"Directly or indirectly the incident in Bali will affect the market, especially as the assets we're trying to sell require long-term investors," IBRA Asset Management Investment (AMI) chairman Taufik Maaruf said during a media meeting on Thursday as reported by detik.com.

The assets are main properties, including PT Bumi Serpong Damai, in which IBRA now owns 37.84 percent. Others include PT Ariobi Estate Perkasa (100 percent owned by IBRA), PT Cibinong Center Industrial Estate (50 percent), PT Sibatex Abadi (100 percent), PT Sriboga Ratu Raya (25 percent) and PT Tuntex Garmen Indonesia (10 percent).

IBRA acquired the assets under a debt settlement scheme from Salim after the group's Bank Central Asia (BCA) took up government-funded bonds worth some Rp 52 trillion (about US$5.65 billion).

Taufik did not say how much the assets were worth, but expected them to yield a 40 percent recovery rate as other Salim asset sales did before.

He also did not rule out the adverse impact the Oct. 12 bombing in Bali might have on the sale of Salim's remaining assets.

Analysts said the incident, which killed nearly 200, mostly foreign tourists, heightened investors jitters about Indonesian assets. IBRA, they said, might need to offer investors hefty discount rates.

In charge of the sale will be PT Holdiko Perkasa, which is managing IBRA's Salim assets. Taufik said the sale began on Thursday with the distribution of "info memos" to prospective buyers. Registration will be closed on Dec. 20, he added.

Among the top Salim assets Holdiko has sold were stakes in car manufacturer PT Astra International (Rp 2.07 trillion), the Salim Palm Plantation ($368 million), television broadcasting company PT Indosiar Visual Mandiri (Rp 775 billion) and PT Indomobil Sukses Internasional (Rp 625 billion).

IBRA's bank restructuring unit also sold a 51 percent stake in BCA to an American investment firm for Rp 5.3 trillion last March.