Prudential case and foreign confidence

Prudential case and foreign confidence

From Media Indonesia

Reports on the recent commercial court decision to declare Prudential insurance company bankrupt has aroused concern due to the various oddities involved. The first question is how an insurance firm with assets worth well over a trillion rupiah could be declared bankrupt after a dispute over an unpaid consulting fee of just over 3 billion rupiah.

Why did the judges make such a hasty decision that could affect the fate of more than eight thousand employees and over 100,000 customers? The receiver now in charge of handling the assets also acted too fast against customer interests for reasons of securing debt payments demanded by the litigant.

Meanwhile, the executives were too slow in their response to the matter, as if they had adopted a wait-and-see attitude. As a customer of Prudential, I would rather trust this company more than this receiver in safeguarding the rights of policyholders.

But all of this has further eroded business uncertainty in Indonesia thereby greatly reducing foreign confidence. For example, when I ordered books via a popular Internet site that ships all around the world, the publishers replied that they did not serve Indonesia any longer because a very high percentage of the goods ordered failed to reach their buyers.

So, why do we continue to worsen this already negative image by declaring this sound and solid firm bankrupt? Indeed, the case should have been heard by a civil court anyway, which could have ordered Prudential to settle the debt, instead of the commercial court with its bankruptcy ruling.

SUHENTO LIAUW Jakarta