Peregrine Sewu Securities unhurt by problem in HK
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian securities house PT Peregrine Sewu Securities will not be directly affected by the financial difficulties faced by the Peregrine Group of Hong Kong.
Peregrine Sewu Securities president Timothy Gray said yesterday the difficulties being experienced by the Peregrine Group in Hong Kong would have no direct impact on PT Peregrine Sewu Securities in Indonesia.
PT Peregrine Sewu Securities is 85 percent owned by the Hong Kong-based Peregrine Group and 15 percent by the Indonesian Gunung Sewu Group of the Ongkosubroto family.
"Peregrine Sewu Securities is a separate legal entity with its own board of directors consisting of key department heads," he said.
The securities house is a profitable company with a strong balance sheet and no outstanding debts, he said.
He said Peregrine Sewu, which had no exposure to any fixed- income client borrower, would be able to carry on its corporate financing, equity brokering and fund management activities in Indonesia.
An industry source told The Jakarta Post recently that Peregrine Sewu Securities, along with securities houses PT Sasson Securities Indonesia, PT Panin Securities and PT Credit Lyonnais Capital Indonesia, had major layoffs in their management due to financial problems.
Early November last year, Lippo Securities, one of the first listed securities companies on the Jakarta Stock Exchange, fired seven top executives as part of its efficiency program to cope with the monetary crisis.
Peregrine Investments Holdings Ltd, one of Asia's largest investment banking groups, said yesterday it had failed to reach an agreement with the Zurich Group of Switzerland on proposed investment in Peregrine.
The Peregrine Group said it had anticipated that a subsidiary of the Zurich Group, Zurich Center Investments, would inject US$200 million in the group in return for convertible preference shares.
A statement from the Peregrine Group said the First Chicago banking group was to have injected a further $25 million, but such investment was contingent upon the completion of the Zurich transactions.
As a result, the Hong Kong Securities Futures Commission (SFC) issued restrictions on 10 companies under the Peregrine Group, banning them from conducting business and disposing of any assets pending further investigation into the group's financial situation, the statement said.
Hong Kong's crippled investment bank Peregrine Investments Holdings gave up its battle for survival yesterday and lodged an application for liquidation, company officials said.
"An application is under way for liquidation," company spokesman Tom Grimmer said at Peregrine's city headquarters.
"The board of Peregrine Investments Holdings Ltd regrets to announce that the company has taken preliminary legal steps in the preparation of an application for liquidation," a company statement said.
"A decision will be made on staffing levels by the liquidator when appointed, probably tomorrow (today)," Grimmer said.