Prosecutors have named former chief of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) Syafruddin Temenggung as a suspect in the illegal sale of state assets, estimated to have caused losses of Rp 500 billion (US$51 million).
However, he has yet to be remanded in custody, Attorney General Abdulrahman Saleh said Friday. He said Syafruddin was charged with selling assets of sugar company PT Rajawali III in Gorontalo province in 2003 for Rp 84 billion, while their value was up to Rp 600 billion.
"Since Friday we have named him a suspect and also imposed a travel ban on him," said Attorney General's Office spokesman Mashyudi Ridwan.
The investigation into Syafruddin began in July 2005. The Attorney General's Office has questioned almost 15 IBRA officials linked to the corruption case.
IBRA was established in 1998 to restructure and sell more than RP 400 trillion in assets it took over from local banks after the government bailed them out amid the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis. Proceeds from the asset sales were to be used to help finance the state budget.
IBRA was dissolved in April 2004 after improvement in the country's economy.
However, the prosecution of Syafruddin may be challenged by Presidential Decree No. 15/2004 on IBRA's dissolution, under which the President granted legal protection to all agency officials in the carrying out of their duties.
The decree also absolved IBRA officials of all responsibility if they committed mistakes in their reports to the government. In apparent defiance of the decree, the Attorney General said the investigation into the graft case would go ahead.
The office is also investigating other former IBRA officials in connection with the assets of convicted former banker David Nusa Wijaya, which were sold without the required permission of prosecutors as the executor in the case.
David, a former director of the now defunct Bank Umum Servitia, received Rp 1.291 trillion in Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support, which became a nonperforming loan.
The Attorney General's Office confiscated his assets. David later fled the country, living in Singapore and the U.S. He was returned by U.S. authorities to Indonesian police custody last month.
Officials also interrogated Hesti, the IBRA employee responsible for David's assets, and planned to summon other IBRA officials as part of their investigation.
Source:
The Jakarta Post
February 04, 2006
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Garuda negotiating with creditors
(JAKARTA) Garuda Indonesia is still negotiating with its creditors on possible options for the settlement of the airline's US$794 million in debts, the Jakarta Post reports.
'There has been a meeting with our creditors, but we are still waiting for their agreement,' Garuda chief executive Emirsyah Satar said on Thursday, following the signing of a cooperation agreement between the airline, the Indonesian Advocates Association and the Indonesian Indigenous Businessmen's Association in Jakarta.
He declined, however, to disclose the outcome of the meeting held last month in Singapore. 'Garuda has already proposed that a portion of the debt be restructured. But we cannot make any statements as the figure has not been finalised yet,' he said.
Garuda has total debts of about US$794 million, which consists of US$510 million owed to the European Credit Agency (ECA), US$130 million to its medium-term bond and promissory note holders in Singapore and US$150 million to Bank Mandiri and state airport operators Angkasa Pura I and II.
Mr Emirsyah said that ECA representatives will visit Indonesia in the first or second week of February to discuss the debt problem with representatives of the Office of the State Minister for State Enterprises, which directly oversees the airline. He further said that the company was paying instalments of about US$80 million annually on the debt.
Meanwhile, the Central Jakarta Commercial Court on Thursday turned down a bankruptcy petition filed by IT consultants PT Magnus Indonesia against the national flag carrier, according to the Jakarta Post.
Magnus filed the bankruptcy petition against Garuda after accusing the latter of failing to pay its fees.
Source:
The Business Times, Singapore
February 4, 2006
'There has been a meeting with our creditors, but we are still waiting for their agreement,' Garuda chief executive Emirsyah Satar said on Thursday, following the signing of a cooperation agreement between the airline, the Indonesian Advocates Association and the Indonesian Indigenous Businessmen's Association in Jakarta.
He declined, however, to disclose the outcome of the meeting held last month in Singapore. 'Garuda has already proposed that a portion of the debt be restructured. But we cannot make any statements as the figure has not been finalised yet,' he said.
Garuda has total debts of about US$794 million, which consists of US$510 million owed to the European Credit Agency (ECA), US$130 million to its medium-term bond and promissory note holders in Singapore and US$150 million to Bank Mandiri and state airport operators Angkasa Pura I and II.
Mr Emirsyah said that ECA representatives will visit Indonesia in the first or second week of February to discuss the debt problem with representatives of the Office of the State Minister for State Enterprises, which directly oversees the airline. He further said that the company was paying instalments of about US$80 million annually on the debt.
Meanwhile, the Central Jakarta Commercial Court on Thursday turned down a bankruptcy petition filed by IT consultants PT Magnus Indonesia against the national flag carrier, according to the Jakarta Post.
Magnus filed the bankruptcy petition against Garuda after accusing the latter of failing to pay its fees.
Source:
The Business Times, Singapore
February 4, 2006
Indonesia may make Calpers' investment list this year
It's one of 17 emerging markets shortlisted from 27 by consulting group
(NEW YORK) A new report prepared for Calpers, the biggest US pension fund, has found that Indonesia now meets certain standards, making it eligible for investment.
Calpers, with US$165.8 billion under management, periodically reviews the markets that it plans to invest in using a seven-factor model defined by the Investment Committee of Calpers, the report said.
The report, which recently became available on Calpers website, was prepared by consulting group Wilshire Associates. It reviewed 27 emerging markets according to criteria such as political stability and investor protection.
While Indonesia made the list, China, Colombia, Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia and Venezuela remained with rankings below the acceptable level.
The rest of the approved list comprises Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Israel, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey.
The Wilshire study is subject to a review by the Calpers board. Markets that do not meet the standards have an opportunity to argue for inclusion.
Sri Lanka fell below the acceptable threshold but is eligible to be given a one-year 'cure period' during which it has an opportunity to improve its score.
The report noted that of the 27 markets that were reviewed, Pakistan and Egypt made the biggest improvement over the past year, while India and Sri Lanka had the greatest declines. The scoring system, which has undergone some revision in its methodology from last year, uses 3.0 as the highest ranking.
The three country parameters of the study are political stability, transparency, and productive labour practices, and the market factors are liquidity and volatility, regulation, ease of access, and settlement efficiency and transaction costs.
Information released in by the Philippine government showed that the country improved its rating to 2.13 from 2.0 a year earlier. The 2.0 level has been the threshold for deciding which markets are acceptable for investment.
India scored 2 out of a maximum 3 for 2006, falling from 2.25 last year, according to the study. India and Peru were added in 2004. Pakistan scored 1.8 compared with 1.63 last year.
An announcement of Calpers's final decision is expected in April.
The list is a reference point, investor Paras Adenwala said.
'Calpers is well respected,' said Mr Adenwala, who manages the equivalent of about US$250 million of stocks as chief investment officer at ING Investment Management India in Mumbai. 'There are a lot of investors who look at Calpers for guidance.'
Overseas demand for Indian stocks helped the benchmark Sensitive index to a record as investors tapped the second-fastest pace of growth among the world's 20 biggest economies. The Mumbai stock exchange's benchmark Sensitive Index, or Sensex, has risen 4.8 per cent this year.
Source:
The Business Times Singapore,
Reuters, & Bloomberg
February 4, 2006
(NEW YORK) A new report prepared for Calpers, the biggest US pension fund, has found that Indonesia now meets certain standards, making it eligible for investment.
Calpers, with US$165.8 billion under management, periodically reviews the markets that it plans to invest in using a seven-factor model defined by the Investment Committee of Calpers, the report said.
The report, which recently became available on Calpers website, was prepared by consulting group Wilshire Associates. It reviewed 27 emerging markets according to criteria such as political stability and investor protection.
While Indonesia made the list, China, Colombia, Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia and Venezuela remained with rankings below the acceptable level.
The rest of the approved list comprises Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Israel, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey.
The Wilshire study is subject to a review by the Calpers board. Markets that do not meet the standards have an opportunity to argue for inclusion.
Sri Lanka fell below the acceptable threshold but is eligible to be given a one-year 'cure period' during which it has an opportunity to improve its score.
The report noted that of the 27 markets that were reviewed, Pakistan and Egypt made the biggest improvement over the past year, while India and Sri Lanka had the greatest declines. The scoring system, which has undergone some revision in its methodology from last year, uses 3.0 as the highest ranking.
The three country parameters of the study are political stability, transparency, and productive labour practices, and the market factors are liquidity and volatility, regulation, ease of access, and settlement efficiency and transaction costs.
Information released in by the Philippine government showed that the country improved its rating to 2.13 from 2.0 a year earlier. The 2.0 level has been the threshold for deciding which markets are acceptable for investment.
India scored 2 out of a maximum 3 for 2006, falling from 2.25 last year, according to the study. India and Peru were added in 2004. Pakistan scored 1.8 compared with 1.63 last year.
An announcement of Calpers's final decision is expected in April.
The list is a reference point, investor Paras Adenwala said.
'Calpers is well respected,' said Mr Adenwala, who manages the equivalent of about US$250 million of stocks as chief investment officer at ING Investment Management India in Mumbai. 'There are a lot of investors who look at Calpers for guidance.'
Overseas demand for Indian stocks helped the benchmark Sensitive index to a record as investors tapped the second-fastest pace of growth among the world's 20 biggest economies. The Mumbai stock exchange's benchmark Sensitive Index, or Sensex, has risen 4.8 per cent this year.
Source:
The Business Times Singapore,
Reuters, & Bloomberg
February 4, 2006
Bakrie Telecom plans Rp 1 trillion investment this year
As part of its aggressive expansion plans, growing CDMA operator PT Bakrie Telecom is set to invest about Rp 1 trillion (about US$105.2 million) to develop its telecommunications infrastructure.
Bakrie Telecom president Anindya N. Bakrie said Friday that the company would use about Rp 600 billion of the proceeds from its initial public offering (IPO) to partly finance the expansion plan.
"The cash from the IPO will be part of the Rp 1 trillion to be spent this year on investment," he said at a press conference following the listing of the company's shares on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX).
The company sold about 5.5 million new shares, about 29.29 percent of its total shares, at Rp 110 per share during the IPO two weeks ago.
Anindya also said that the firm would issue warrants in August to raise an additional Rp 150 billion, and would consider other possible financing schemes to achieve the investment target.
Bakrie Telecom, under the brand name Esia, now provides mobile services on the 800 MHz frequency to almost 400,000 customers in Jakarta and Bandung.
The company will also expand its services to 15 cities outside Jakarta, West Java and Banten, bringing on board a total of 1.3 million additional customers. It has signed an agreement with another telecommunications operator, PT Indosat, to use the latter's network in these areas. In return, Indosat will be able to use Esia's network to provide coverage in Jakarta, West Java and Banten.
Although Bakrie Telecom suffered total losses of Rp 112 billion up to September last year, Anindya was optimistic that the firm would turn the corner this year.
Bakrie Telecom is also one of five companies participating in the government tender for 3G high-speed mobile telecommunications services.
The Directorate General of Posts and Telecommunications confirmed Friday that Bakrie Telecom, along with PT Telkomsel, PT Exelcomindo, PT Telkom and Indosat, had passed the pre-qualification process in the 3G competition. They will now submit final bids on Tuesday and Wednesday.
If Bakrie Telecom wins a 3G license, it will finance the construction of its 3G infrastructure from other financial sources, Anindya said. "But this is an entirely different project from our network expansion this year. Whatever happens as regards the tender, it will not affect our plan to develop our CDMA infrastructure in West Java and Banten," he said.
Source:
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
February 04, 2006
Bakrie Telecom president Anindya N. Bakrie said Friday that the company would use about Rp 600 billion of the proceeds from its initial public offering (IPO) to partly finance the expansion plan.
"The cash from the IPO will be part of the Rp 1 trillion to be spent this year on investment," he said at a press conference following the listing of the company's shares on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX).
The company sold about 5.5 million new shares, about 29.29 percent of its total shares, at Rp 110 per share during the IPO two weeks ago.
Anindya also said that the firm would issue warrants in August to raise an additional Rp 150 billion, and would consider other possible financing schemes to achieve the investment target.
Bakrie Telecom, under the brand name Esia, now provides mobile services on the 800 MHz frequency to almost 400,000 customers in Jakarta and Bandung.
The company will also expand its services to 15 cities outside Jakarta, West Java and Banten, bringing on board a total of 1.3 million additional customers. It has signed an agreement with another telecommunications operator, PT Indosat, to use the latter's network in these areas. In return, Indosat will be able to use Esia's network to provide coverage in Jakarta, West Java and Banten.
Although Bakrie Telecom suffered total losses of Rp 112 billion up to September last year, Anindya was optimistic that the firm would turn the corner this year.
Bakrie Telecom is also one of five companies participating in the government tender for 3G high-speed mobile telecommunications services.
The Directorate General of Posts and Telecommunications confirmed Friday that Bakrie Telecom, along with PT Telkomsel, PT Exelcomindo, PT Telkom and Indosat, had passed the pre-qualification process in the 3G competition. They will now submit final bids on Tuesday and Wednesday.
If Bakrie Telecom wins a 3G license, it will finance the construction of its 3G infrastructure from other financial sources, Anindya said. "But this is an entirely different project from our network expansion this year. Whatever happens as regards the tender, it will not affect our plan to develop our CDMA infrastructure in West Java and Banten," he said.
Source:
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
February 04, 2006
Adam Air may sell 20 percent stake to Australia's Qantas
Locally owned regional airline Adam Air is considering selling about 20 percent of its shares to Australia's Qantas in a bid to create mutual benefits for both airlines.
"They want to buy about 30 percent of our shares, but we are only prepared to offer them 20 percent as we're planning to sell another 20 percent during an initial public offering (IPO) in Singapore next year," Adam Air chief executive officer (CEO) Gunawan Suherman was quoted by Antara as saying Friday.
He added, however, that the Qantas deal had not yet been finalized.
Qantas CEO, Geoff Dixon, and the airline's chief financial officer, Peter Gregg, visited Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta on Friday to take a closer look at Adam Air's operations.
The Australian airline, Gunawan said, had decided to make Indonesia its second hub after Australia.
"They are preparing to enter the domestic market before the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) liberalizes the transportation of cargo in 2008 and passengers in 2010," he said, adding that he expected the deal would benefit both companies.
Qantas, he said, would also provide training for Adam Air employees.
Adam Air, one of Indonesia's fledgling budget airlines, plans to almost triple the size of its fleet to 50 aircraft within three years to support the expansion of its domestic and international services.
The airline currently operates 20 planes, flying to 39 destinations, including Malaysia and Singapore.
"We are hoping to operate 40 planes by the end of 2006," executive vice president Dave Laksono told The Jakarta Post last week.
The airline started its domestic operations in December 2002 with Boeing 747-400 and Boeing 737-500 aircraft made between 1997 and 2000.
Qantas, which stands for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited, was founded in Queensland in 1920.
It is widely regarded as one of the world's leading long distance airlines and one of the strongest brands in Australia. (01)
Source:
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
February 04, 2006
"They want to buy about 30 percent of our shares, but we are only prepared to offer them 20 percent as we're planning to sell another 20 percent during an initial public offering (IPO) in Singapore next year," Adam Air chief executive officer (CEO) Gunawan Suherman was quoted by Antara as saying Friday.
He added, however, that the Qantas deal had not yet been finalized.
Qantas CEO, Geoff Dixon, and the airline's chief financial officer, Peter Gregg, visited Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta on Friday to take a closer look at Adam Air's operations.
The Australian airline, Gunawan said, had decided to make Indonesia its second hub after Australia.
"They are preparing to enter the domestic market before the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) liberalizes the transportation of cargo in 2008 and passengers in 2010," he said, adding that he expected the deal would benefit both companies.
Qantas, he said, would also provide training for Adam Air employees.
Adam Air, one of Indonesia's fledgling budget airlines, plans to almost triple the size of its fleet to 50 aircraft within three years to support the expansion of its domestic and international services.
The airline currently operates 20 planes, flying to 39 destinations, including Malaysia and Singapore.
"We are hoping to operate 40 planes by the end of 2006," executive vice president Dave Laksono told The Jakarta Post last week.
The airline started its domestic operations in December 2002 with Boeing 747-400 and Boeing 737-500 aircraft made between 1997 and 2000.
Qantas, which stands for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited, was founded in Queensland in 1920.
It is widely regarded as one of the world's leading long distance airlines and one of the strongest brands in Australia. (01)
Source:
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
February 04, 2006
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