L

ender Bank Mandiri, postal company Pos Indonesia and pension insurance firm Taspen remain in a state of stalemate regarding the ownership of their planned joint venture.

According to the original plan, the partnership between the state-run enterprises will be implemented through Bank Sinar Harapan Bali (BSHB), Mandiri'€™s subsidiary that focuses on disbursing micro loans in Bali.

Mandiri will sell some of its 93.2 percent share stake in BSHB to Pos and Taspen, while maintaining majority ownership.

However, more than a year after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in January 2013, no official decision has been made.

The MoU was signed by then Mandiri president director Zulkifli Zaini, then Pos president director I Ketut Mardjana and then Taspen president director Agus Haryanto. The signing ceremony was also attended by State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan.

Taspen finance director Benedicta Maria Tri Lestari acknowledged that the companies were still engaged in the tough discussion and that Taspen was pursuing a 30 percent ownership in the joint venture.

'€œWe have already reached a peace deal with Mandiri, but have not reached any compromise yet regarding the ownership issue,'€ she said Friday.

The '€œpeace deal'€ referred to a 2007 case, where Rp 110 billion (US$9.72 million) of Taspen'€™s funds in Mandiri was embezzled.

She added that if the ownership issue was solved, BSHB could then assist Taspen in serving more retirees. In 2014, Taspen hopes to see its customer base rise to 6.7 million, from 6.5 million last year.

At the moment, Taspen runs more than 45 branches and 12,800 units across the country, while BSHB operates around 43 branches. BSHB'€™s 2013 financial report shows it had Rp 1.1 trillion ($97.25 million) in total assets and reaped Rp 17.2 billion in net profits.

Regarding the ownership issue, Mandiri finance and strategy director Pahala N. Mansury said, according to an existing conditional sales agreement, the lender would remain the majority shareholder with more than 53 percent, while Pos and Taspen would hold around 20 percent each.

'€œThis is the agreement we want to implement,'€ he said in a text message.

A source familiar with the process, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Pos would object if Taspen was granted more than a 20 percent stake in BSHB.

Pos wanted the same treatment as Taspen, the source said, adding that all parties were being '€œstubborn'€ in pursuing their own interests.

Pos president director Budi Setiawan separately denied there was a rift between Pos, Mandiri and Taspen. '€œOur position is unchanged. We are ready whenever the others are ready.'€

Meanwhile, deputy for business services at the ministry Gatot Trihargo said the ministry would push the three firms to wrap up the talks. '€œIt'€™s already taken too long. It has to be completed this year.'€