State Bank Exim takes multi-finance firm to court
State Bank Exim takes multi-finance firm to court
JAKARTA (JP): The state Bank Ekspor Impor Indonesia (Bank
Exim) filed a bankruptcy petition against multi-finance firm PT
Pacific International Finance with the commercial court on
Monday.
A court source said that Bank Exim had bought promissory notes
worth US$63.63 million from the multi-finance company but the
bank could not cash in the notes owing to the company's financial
problems.
Bank Exim is the first Indonesian state bank to bring an
insolvency claim to court since the country's bankruptcy law came
into operation in August this year. The first hearing will be
held on Nov. 12.
A court official said that Pacific International also owed
about $40 million to Bank Tabungan Negara.
Multi-finance firm PT Pacific Finance International is closely
associated with Bank Pacific which was liquidated by the
government early this year on account of its huge bad debts.
Bank Exim will be the fourth bank to bring a bankruptcy
petition to the court after the American Express Bank's (Amex)
Singapore branch filed a case against PT Ometraco Corporation and
its subsidiary PT Ometraco Multi Artha and Bank PDFCI action
against cardboard box producer PT Sarana Kemas Utama.
The American Express Bank of Jakarta branch also filed an
insolvency case against cocoa producer PT Davomas Abadi in
September but it withdrew its petition late last month because it
had reached an agreement with the company for an out-of-court
settlement of the $3 million debt.
In a later development, the court adjourned Monday the hearing
pitting multi-finance firm PT Profilindo Indratama Finance
against businessman Purnomo Onggowarsito until Nov. 10 to allow
the plaintiff to complete its charges.
PT Profilindo filed a bankruptcy claim on Oct. 22 with the
court after Purnomo failed to pay back a Rp 13.17 billion loan
which matured on Oct. 19.
The plaintiff's lawyer, Palmer Situmorang of the Palmer
Situmorang and Horas Sinaga law firm, said that businessman
Purnomo had failed to service his debt since then.
"That's why we have filed a claim against Purnomo with the
court," he said after the hearing on Monday. (aly)