Pikko to go public

JAKARTA (JP): Bank Pikko will issue 28 million new shares to the public next month which will be traded on the Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges in January.

Bank Pikko president Daroel Oeloem Aboe Bakar said yesterday, the new shares, each with a nominal value of Rp 500 (21 U.S. cents), would have a price-earnings ratio of seven to 10, based on a 1997 earnings projection.

The new shares will account for around 22 percent of the company's 128 million shares.

PT Trimegah Securindo Lestari and PT Usaha Bersama Sekuritas will underwrite the offering.

Daroel said around 75 percent of the proceeds from the public offering would be used to increase the bank's credit portfolio, around 20 percent would expand its networks and 5 percent would develop its human resources.

He said Bank Pikko, established 28 years ago as Bank Rahardja Makmur, was renamed in June 1996.

He said the bank had around 20,000 customers, and that its assets had been growing around 40 percent yearly.

The bank, with paid-up capital of Rp 200 billion, had a capital adequacy ratio of 27.14 percent and a loan to deposit ratio of 73.64 percent in June this year, he said. (02)