Pikko to go public

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)