Salim not to sell assets to repay govt by Sept. 21

JAKARTA (JP): PT Indofood Sukses Makmur, a subsidiary of the giant Salim Group, said on Tuesday that the group did not intend to sell its assets to repay debts to the government by Sept. 21.

Indofood denied media reports that the Salim Group had proposed giving the government assets and shares in a range of group units as part of a solution to problems at its flagship Bank Central Asia (BCA), the country's largest private bank.

The food giant, nevertheless, said the Salim Group had signed an agreement with the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency regarding BCA.

"The Salim Group does not intend to sell its assets owned by the group prior to Sept. 21," Indofood said in a letter to the Jakarta Stock Exchange which released it on Wednesday.

Indofood was referring to the Sept. 21 deadline given by the government for owners or founders of BCA and other banks which had been nationalized or closed down to repay their banks' mounting debts to Bank Indonesia.

The government has threatened to seize their assets if the owners and founders fail to pay the central bank.

The government decided last month to nationalize BCA and three other private banks -- Bank Danamon, Bank PDFCI and Bank Tiara Asia -- as part of its overall banking sector restructuring program.

It also closed down Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia (BDNI), Bank Umum Nasional (BUN) and Modern Bank.

The National Police and the Attorney General's Office are investigating owners and executives of the closed or liquidated banks and have pressed them to repay their banks' debts to the central bank, but they have not yet moved against any of the owners and executives of the nationalized banks. (rid)