Panin Bank plans to issue bonds

Panin Bank plans to issue bonds

JAKARTA : PT Bank Pan Indonesia, or Panin Bank, is planning to issue around Rp 500 billion of bonds by June to diversify the maturity profile of the source of its funds, an official with the bank said on Tuesday.

"We see the current falling interest rate as an opportunity to issue bonds," an official with the company, who spoke on condition of anonymity told Dow Jones Newswires.

He said the purpose of the bond issuance is to decrease the bank's reliance on short-term funds such as time deposits.

He added that the bank will likely name Triple-A Securities as the lead underwriter for the issue if the bank gets approval for the issue from the capital market watchdog, Bapepam.

Panin Bank is one of the few local banks that survived the recent banking crisis without funding assistance from the government.

Several companies are planning to issue bonds this year as demand for bonds is healthy amid declining interest rates. --Dow Jones