The government annulled a decision Wednesday by the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) to lift a trading suspension on PT Bumi Resources, in a move experts say is aimed at keeping the interests of the influential Bakrie family intact.
Before morning trading, the IDX said in a statement it would lift the Bumi suspension after hearing PT Bakrie & Brothers’ explanation about a deal to sell its 35 percent stake in Bumi to Northstar Pacific.
The decision was believed to be supported by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, whose ministry oversees the Capital Market Supervisory and Financial Institutions Agency (Bapepam-LK).
However, the IDX scrapped its decision an hour later after a request from the government.
“After considering a request from the government, the exchange decided to delay lifting the suspension until further notice,” the IDX said in a statement.
IDX president director Erry Firmansyah refused to explain the reason behind the request.
“It’s the government who wanted it, the government of the Republic of Indonesia,” he said, refusing to identify which institution had demanded the suspension.
A source at the Finance Ministry said the request was not from the ministry, and Mulyani did not comment on the issue.
“It was a request from an office higher than that run by Mulyani,” the source said.
Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng dismissed speculation President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was behind the intervention, saying the Bakrie mess was not the President’s concern.
Capital market analyst Yanuar Rizky said the government’s shocking intercession had diluted its own credibility as the referee of the capital market.
“This move proves there are conflicts of interest among factions within the government to protect certain ruling elites,” he said.
Trading in shares of Bakrie & Brothers, Bumi and PT Energi Mega Persada — all part of the Bakrie Group of companies — have been suspended by the IDX since Oct. 7, following sharp falls in share prices due to reports Bakrie was having trouble with debt repayments.
Bakrie & Brothers, the nation’s largest publicly listed investment firm, announced on Nov. 1 that Northstar, a local unit of U.S. buyout giant Texas Pacific Group, had agreed to pay US$1.3 billion for its 35 percent stake in Bumi.
Northstar, believed to be teaming up with state mining firms, must wrap up the deal within 28 days.
Analysts say a lifting of the suspension would have harmed the deal, with the Bumi stake expected to be heavily devaluated as investors promptly sell them over worries the stake could drop further due to uncertainties over Bakrie’s debt arrangements.
Help from the government will mean a lot for the Bakrie family, headed by Coordinating Minister for the People’s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, following its role as a key financier of Yudhoyono’s 2004 presidential campaign. (hwa)
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