Standard Chartered, Astra get approval for Permata

Standard Chartered, Astra get approval for Permata

Aloysius Unditu Bloomberg/Jakarta

Standard Chartered Plc, a U.K. bank that makes two-thirds of its profit in Asia, and PT Astra International, received the Indonesian central bank's approval to buy 51 percent of PT Bank Permata, a government official said.

"We received a formal letter from the central bank yesterday stating its approval," Raden Pardede, vice president director of PT Perusahaan Pengelola Aset, said in an interview. The government agency was set up earlier this year to handle sales of state assets and banks.

Indonesia's central bank reviewed the qualifications of bidders for the stake in Indonesia's seventh-largest lender by assets and asked for a written assurance that they have adequate financial backing and the commitment to grow Permata's business.

"Standard Chartered and Astra are qualified investors," Pardede said, without elaborating.

Regina Seow, Standard Chartered's spokeswoman in Singapore, was not available for comment.

Standard Chartered and PT Astra International, an Indonesian automobile distributor, were named preferred bidders last month for the stake valued at Rp 2.77 trillion (US$304 million).

The Permata stake is part of Indonesia's asset sales aimed at meeting a Rp 26.3 trillion budget shortfall this year. The government also aims to recoup some of the Rp 450 trillion the nation spent to aid lenders after the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

Shares of Bank Permata, which have risen 33 percent this year, fell Rp 25, or 2.44 percent, to Rp 1,000 at the close of trading on the Jakarta Stock Exchange.