Jamsostek to buy BRI, PGN stakes

Jamsostek to buy BRI, PGN stakes

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State-owned insurance firm PT Jamsostek plans to purchase a
significant number of shares in state-owned lender Bank Rakyat
Indonesia (BRI) and gas company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN)
during their initial public offering (IPO).

Jamsostek's president Achmad Junaidi said on Monday that one
of the company's main obligations was to support all government
programs, including to ensure the success of BRI and PGN
privatization.

"We plan to buy a large portion of BRI and PGN shares during
their IPO, in order to help their privatization programs run
well. But thus far, we haven't decided on the figures yet," said
Junaidi on the sidelines of a press gathering.

The government is planning to sell a 20 percent stake in PGN
and 30 percent in BRI later in October and November respectively
to help plug the widening budget deficit this year, estimated to
reach 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or about Rp 35.1
trillion.

As of the end of June this year, Jamsostek had invested Rp
23.1 trillion (US$2.7 billion) in funds collected from workers in
various investment portfolios.

As of the first semester this year, a total of 21.6 million
workers from 110,726 companies nationwide participated in the
firm's four basic insurance programs: health care, pension funds,
an occupational accident program and life insurance.

The company is the only local investor able to move the
Jakarta Composite Index as foreign fund managers. In the first
semester of this year, the company had invested Rp 1.59 trillion
in the stock market.

Jamsostek was said to have purchased some 300 million shares
of Bank Mandiri during its IPO in July, in order to help lift the
price of the bank's shares at the market.

Elsewhere, Junaidi said that Jamsostek would be ready to help
ailing textile maker Texmaco Group if asked by the government.

He explained that if the government was willing, Jamsostek
could help inject new capital in the form of bonds to Texmaco.

"We will buy new Texmaco bonds to help the company, but only
with the government's approval," said Junaidi.

Texmaco owes a total of $3.4 billion to the Indonesian Bank
Restructuring Agency. It also owes at least $1 billion to foreign
bondholders, a debt which has yet to restructured, including
about $700 million owed by its main textile unit, PT Polysindo
Eka Perkasa.