Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 06/21/2008 12:22 PM | Headlines
Publicly listed PT Bank UOB Buana aims to complete all procedures to delist its stock from the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) this year, making its status private, an executive says.
Finance director Safrullah Hadi Saleh said Friday that its parent, Singapore-based United Overseas Bank International Investment Pte. Ltd. (UOBII), would complete all necessary acquisitions no more than four months after receiving a green light from the capital market authority.
"Following the plan to go private, we submitted an application for regulatory approval from the Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam) on June 17," Safrullah said here after a shareholders meeting.
"Our time line for the delisting plan will depend on rulings from Bapepam, BEI and Bank Indonesia," he said, adding that after submitting the application, the BEI had suspended transactions of Buana's shares in the stock market.
Buana is currently 61.13 percent owned by UOBII (wholly owned by UOB Singapore), 26.75 percent by PT Sari Dasa Karsa and 12.12 percent by the public. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that UOBII would pay some US$387 million for the transaction.
Acquisitions on the remaining shares have to wait for Bapepam to carry out its plan to revise a regulation on a tender offer, which is an obligation to make an offer to buy to all shareholders if purchasing more than a 25 percent stake in a listed company.
On Thursday, Bapepam chairman Fuad Rahmany said the new regulation would raise the stake purchase benchmark for a tender offer to 50 percent and may order it to leave a minimum public share of 10 to 20 percent so as to protect the interests of minority shareholders.
The reason behind the delisting plan, Safrullah said, was because the shares face a threat of a dilution due to liquidity problems caused by a small number of shareholders and significant amount of odd lots.
"For the public ownership, UOB Buana has less than 350 shareholders, and most of them own only small percentages," he said.
In terms of odd lot stock, "It has caused UOB stock transaction to be less liquid, making it unattractive in the stock market," he added.
The delisting plan, however, would not force Buana to revise its target this year.
"Nothing will be changed. Moreover, our plan to go private is expected to improve our performance."
Buana is targeting its lending growth to reach 25 to 30 percent this year, at Rp 15 trillion.
The company booked some Rp 420 billion in net profit last year. Its total assets were recorded at Rp 18.7 trillion as of May.
Established in 1956, Buana was listed on the BEI in 2000. In 2005, UOBII acquired a 23 percent stake in UOB Buana, and increased it to 53 percent in January 2007, through a tender offer.
Currently, Buana has 206 offices throughout the country, employing some 6,000 people.
Publicly listed PT Bank UOB Buana aims to complete all procedures to delist its stock from the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) this year, making its status private, an executive says.
Finance director Safrullah Hadi Saleh said Friday that its parent, Singapore-based United Overseas Bank International Investment Pte. Ltd. (UOBII), would complete all necessary acquisitions no more than four months after receiving a green light from the capital market authority.
"Following the plan to go private, we submitted an application for regulatory approval from the Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam) on June 17," Safrullah said here after a shareholders meeting.
"Our time line for the delisting plan will depend on rulings from Bapepam, BEI and Bank Indonesia," he said, adding that after submitting the application, the BEI had suspended transactions of Buana's shares in the stock market.
Buana is currently 61.13 percent owned by UOBII (wholly owned by UOB Singapore), 26.75 percent by PT Sari Dasa Karsa and 12.12 percent by the public. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that UOBII would pay some US$387 million for the transaction.
Acquisitions on the remaining shares have to wait for Bapepam to carry out its plan to revise a regulation on a tender offer, which is an obligation to make an offer to buy to all shareholders if purchasing more than a 25 percent stake in a listed company.
On Thursday, Bapepam chairman Fuad Rahmany said the new regulation would raise the stake purchase benchmark for a tender offer to 50 percent and may order it to leave a minimum public share of 10 to 20 percent so as to protect the interests of minority shareholders.
The reason behind the delisting plan, Safrullah said, was because the shares face a threat of a dilution due to liquidity problems caused by a small number of shareholders and significant amount of odd lots.
"For the public ownership, UOB Buana has less than 350 shareholders, and most of them own only small percentages," he said.
In terms of odd lot stock, "It has caused UOB stock transaction to be less liquid, making it unattractive in the stock market," he added.
The delisting plan, however, would not force Buana to revise its target this year.
"Nothing will be changed. Moreover, our plan to go private is expected to improve our performance."
Buana is targeting its lending growth to reach 25 to 30 percent this year, at Rp 15 trillion.
The company booked some Rp 420 billion in net profit last year. Its total assets were recorded at Rp 18.7 trillion as of May.
Established in 1956, Buana was listed on the BEI in 2000. In 2005, UOBII acquired a 23 percent stake in UOB Buana, and increased it to 53 percent in January 2007, through a tender offer.
Currently, Buana has 206 offices throughout the country, employing some 6,000 people.
