Maybank urged to offer BII shares

Ika Krismantari and Aditya Suharmoko ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 10/03/2008 11:34 AM  |  Business

The capital market watchdog has asked Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) to start offering shares in Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) after it wraps up its deal to buy a controlling stake in BII.

The Malaysian bank should immediately offer BII shares in a tender-offer scheme, Indonesian Capital Market and Financial Institution Supervisory Agency (Bapepam-LK) chairman Fuad Rahmani said Wednesday.

"We welcome the deal. Maybank should launch a tender offer after the Idul Fitri holidays," Fuad said.

A regulation, dealing with what are known as tender-offer schemes, requires companies that acquire more than 50 percent of a publicly listed firm to offer to buy the remaining shares and then sell shares back to the public within two years.

Maybank is completing the deal purchasing the stake from Sorak consortium, which consists of Singapore's Temasek Holdings and South Korea's Kookmin Bank, as reported by Bloomberg on Tuesday.

The deal came from Temasek, and Kookmin sweetened the transaction by providing a rebate on its stake, equivalent to S$315.2 million (US$220 million).

Temasek, the Singapore government's investment arm, and Kookmin are jointly selling their controlling 55.6 percent stake in BII, Indonesia's ninth largest bank.

Kookmin sold its 14 percent for S$443 million, the Seoul-based lender said Tuesday as reported by Bloomberg.

Maybank missed the Sept. 26 deadline to close the deal after Malaysia's central bank blocked it, citing concerns the price was too high given the global credit crunch.

According to Bloomberg, Maybank's offer values BII at 4.7 times its book value. Current prices for Indonesian banks are on average 1.9 times their book value.

Meanwhile, the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) may allow trading in BII shares on Monday after Maybank wraps up its purchase.

"We may lift the suspension on Monday," IDX president director Erry Firmansyah said Wednesday, adding that Maybank had to give an official explanation on the completion of the deal to his office as soon as possible.

The IDX has several times suspended trading BII shares over uncertainty about the deal between Maybank and Temasek, the bourse last suspending trading on BII shares on Monday.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.