Laksamana to promote Danamon in London

Laksamana to promote Danamon in London

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi and
Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) chairman Syafruddin
Temenggung will meet with European investors in London on Friday
to interest buyers in a majority stake in publicly-listed Bank
Danamon.

IBRA deputy chairman I Nyoman Sender said on Thursday that the
overseas trip was part of an international roadshow to test the
market's appetite toward Bank Danamon.

The government is trying to sell a 51 percent stake in the
bank to strategic investors and another 20 percent via the stock
market.

The sale process is expected to be completed this year.

The government, via IBRA, currently owns a 99.4 percent stake
in the bank, in return for around Rp 47 trillion-worth in bailout
funds. The agency came to the bank's rescue at the height of the
financial crisis in the late 1990s.

The bank is currently rated among the country's top ten.

Sender earlier led a team to Hong Kong and Singapore as part
of the Bank Danamon roadshow.

The overseas roadshows prove the government's determination to
sell the Bank Danamon stake this year, despite protests from
lawmakers.

A banking subcommission at the House of Representatives
earlier urged the government to delay the Bank Danamon sale,
citing currently unfavorable market conditions and the absence of
legislation governing the sale of state assets and the
privatization program.

They argued that a better investment climate would increase
investor confidence in the country and help ensure better bidding
prices.

IBRA is mandated to sell government shares in banks as part of
efforts to restructure the banking industry while also raising
cash to help finance the state budget deficit.

Selling off the Bank Danamon stake this year is also in
compliance with what has been agreed to with the International
Monetary Fund (IMF).