On Himbara Share Buyback, Danantara Stresses Strong Fundamentals

Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Danantara, Dony Oskaria, has emphasised that the move to buy back shares belonging to the Association of State-Owned Banks (Himbara) is based on confidence in the strong fundamentals of the Himbara banks, even though this is not yet fully reflected in market share prices. “Because the share price is low and it is profitable for us to acquire them because the fundamentals are good. As I mentioned yesterday, the fundamentals of our banks are in the best position today. You can see for yourself, they are publicly listed banks,” Dony stated in Jakarta on Wednesday. He explained that a buyback is a standard mechanism employed by company owners when the share price does not align with its actual fundamental value. “Actually, a buyback is a normal mechanism carried out by a company owner when the share price does not match its fundamentals,” Dony said. According to him, many national company stocks, particularly in the banking and infrastructure sectors, currently demonstrate strong performance and prospects. However, this condition is not yet optimally reflected in share price movements. “It’s a pity. That is what is happening, that indeed many of our stocks have very good fundamentals. Just look, our stocks are good, our banking is good, our infrastructure stocks and performance are good,” he said. He further stressed that the performance of state-owned banks is currently in excellent condition and can be transparently viewed through each listed company’s financial reports. “You can check the books, they are in an extraordinarily good position. So if the share price drops, it’s a waste, so we just acquire them,” he said. Previously, Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) Sufmi Dasco Ahmad stated he had coordinated with Danantara, BPJS Ketenagakerjaan (Workers Social Security Agency), PT Taspen, and Himbara to carry out a buyback of Himbara bank shares. He indicated this was one outcome of an evaluation of the current banking situation, noting that the banking sector’s development is actually very promising. “Perhaps the stocks that are currently performing well can be bought back,” Dasco said at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Tuesday. Meanwhile, BNI President Director Putrama Wahju Setyawan explained that fundamentally, Himbara’s performance is currently at its best. As an illustration, he said average credit growth at Himbara is growing in the range of 20 per cent, while third-party funds are growing between 20 to 30 per cent. “Liquidity is also very well maintained, with the LDR (loan to deposit ratio) in the range of 88 to 90 per cent,” he said. Consequently, he conveyed that Himbara’s fundamental performance is currently very strong, so there is no need for worry or doubt about the fundamental conditions on the exchange.