Mayora says law firm is unfair

Mayora says law firm is unfair

JAKARTA (JP): Biscuit producer PT Mayora Indah claimed on
Monday that its corporate legal consultant, Dermawan & Co, acted
unfairly when the law firm represented a party the company is
fighting against in court, the company's lawyer said.

"Dermawan & Co law firm is operating against the lawyer's code
of ethics," Gusmarizal from Yan Juanda Saputra & Partners said in
a statement made available to the Jakarta Post.

Dermawan & Co -- a legal consultant for Mayora since 1997 --
represented Bankers Trust International PLC. of the United
Kingdom in court for a derivative transaction case against
Mayora, Gusmarizal said.

Dermawan & Co has been Bankers Trust's corporate legal
consultant since 1994, according to Gusmarizal.

Mayora and Bankers Trust signed a derivative contract in 1997,
under which Mayora had to exchange US$50 million in rupiah at an
agreed rate with Bankers Trust.

But by the time the company was due to pay, the rupiah's value
plummeted against the dollar, leaving Mayora under pressure to
pay.

Mayora instead filed suit last year against Bankers Trust for
not giving adequate advice on the derivative transaction, which
consequently caused considerable foreign exchange losses for
Mayora.

Bankers Trust -- in facing the suit filed by Mayora at the
South Jakarta State District Court -- hired Dermawan & Co (its
existing corporate legal consultant) to act as the bank's
litigation lawyer.

Officials from Dermawan & Co were not available for comment.

The case between Mayora and Bankers Trust is awaiting the
court's decision.

Mayora, listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange, is 32.93 percent
owned by PT Unitra Branindo and the rest by the investing public.
(udi)