Second company declared bankrupt by Jakarta court

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Commercial Court declared PT Sarana Kemas Utama bankrupt on Wednesday following a petition from Bank PDFCI.

Sarana Kemas, a cardboard producer, is the second company to be declared bankrupt by the court after a controversial bankruptcy decision made by the same court early this month.

Presiding judge Haryono said that Sarana Kemas had acknowledged its obligations and its failure to service its debt with the plaintiff. The loan matured in November 1996.

"So we accept the bankruptcy petition and declare PT Sarana Kemas Utama bankrupt," he said in the hearing.

PDFCI filed a claim with the commercial court on Sept. 30, demanding that Sarana Kemas be declared bankrupt after it failed to repay a Rp 21.78 billion (about US$29 million) loan.

The judge also appointed William Eduard Daniel of Warens and Achyar law firm to take care of the debtor's assets.

"The receiver is also entitled to a fee totaling 0.5 percent of the debtor's total assets," Haryono said.

The receiver is likely to obtain approximately Rp 500 million for taking care of Sarana Kemas' assets, which are worth about Rp 50 billion.

The plaintiff's lawyer, Teguh Samudera of Teguh Samudera law firm, said the company had not serviced its debt with Bank PDFCI since November 1996.

In a surprising verdict early this month, the commercial court declared Modernland bankrupt following a petition by two individuals, Hussein and Johan Subekti, claiming a relatively modest amount of Rp 94.13 million.

The ruling, the first bankruptcy declaration under the new law, has come under fire from various lawyers, including bank creditors and Modernland, which has total assets of nearly Rp 1 trillion.

Sarana Kemas' attorney, Heryanto of Herwah and Associates, said his client would appeal to the Supreme Court this week.

Meanwhile, bankruptcy lawyers grouped in the Bankruptcy Litigation Lawyers Club (BLLC) have called on the minister of justice to review a ministerial decree on the amount of fees for receivers and administrators assigned to take care of debtors' assets.

Hotman Paris Hutapea of Makarim and Taira S law firm, who is also a member of BLLC, said the group had sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice asking for a review of fee amounts.

According to a Ministry of Justice decree, the fee for a receiver should not exceed 2 percent of a debtor's total assets and an administrator's fee should not exceed 3 percent of a debtor's total assets.

"I think the fee is just too much," Hotman said. (aly)