Lippo's 2005 net to fall 44% on taxes

Lippo's 2005 net to fall 44% on taxes

JAKARTA: Mid-sized lender PT Bank Lippo said on Friday it expected net profit to fall by 44 percent in 2005 as the bank would be required to pay an operating tax this year.

"We will record at least Rp 500 billion (US$53 million) in income after tax this year, compared with Rp 893 billion in 2004," Bank Lippo President Josh Luhukay told reporters.

He noted that all banks -- which have been exempt from paying taxes since the 1997-1998 financial crisis -- have to pay a 30 percent tax on their profits from this year.

The bank official gave no further details.

Swissasia Global, a consortium led by Austria's Raiffeisen Zentral bank Oesterreich AG owns a 51.05 percent stake in Bank Lippo. -- Dow Jones