"We will meet again on Tuesday of next week for the second court hearing," presiding judge Sihol Sitompoel told the court.

The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) filed a bankruptcy suit against A Latief in late March, claiming the firm had unpaid debts of some US$17 million.

A Latief said the legal action by IBRA was out of proportion, and claimed to have attempted to initiate debt negotiations with IBRA but failed to receive a response from the agency's officials.

Tantawi J. Nasution, a lawyer representing IBRA, acknowledged efforts by A Latief to settle its debts with the agency.

"There is the possibility that A Latief Corporation is going to repay its debts to IBRA. We will see if that really happens within seven days from now," he said.

Tantawi said he would meet with A Latief executives to discuss the possibility of negotiating a debt settlement.

He guaranteed that if A Latief resumed debt repayments to IBRA, the agency would withdraw its bankruptcy suit.

But he stressed IBRA would not allow any debt relief for the principle owed by the trading firm, saying such relief only was possible for overdue interest payments and late payment penalties.

Lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea, who represents A Latief, said on Tuesday there was a "technical" problem with the bankruptcy suit filed against his client.

Hotman said A Latief originally owed debts to Bank Danamon and Bank Pelita, not IBRA.

Those two banks were closed down by the government and transferred to IBRA under the government's bank restructuring program, he said.

"Thus the bankruptcy suit should be filed by these two banks, but with IBRA's power of attorney," he said.

The power of attorney was needed because the management of the closed banks had been transferred to IBRA, according to Hotman.

"This is in line with Article 40 of Government Decree No. 17 on IBRA," he said.

The agency brought three debtors to the commercial court in late March for their alleged failure to repay debts to the agency.

The companies are trading firm A Latief Corporation, crude palm oil processor PT Sumi Asih, which owes the agency Rp 73.94 billion and $6.73 million, and PT Ometraco Corporation, which has $53.18 million in unpaid debts. (udi)

Index

Agustus said that the agency was exercising the opportunity provided by the 1998 law on bankruptcy which allowed IBRA to request ad hoc judges for all cases filed in the Commercial Court or bankruptcy court.

"This is a straightforward thing. Why should we make it difficult... Our credibility in the eyes of investors is at stake," he told a small group of journalists.

Agustus was responding to a rejection made by head of the bankruptcy court, Sihol Sitoempul, against IBRA's request to assign ad hoc judges to examine three bankruptcy cases.

Sihol said last week that none of the four ad hoc judges appointed through a presidential decree last year could examine IBRA's cases because the judges had yet to take the oath of office before the Commercial Court.

He said that the ad hoc judges declined to take the oath until the court agreed to allow a "dissenting opinion" to be recorded on the last page of a verdict document to notify when a verdict was reached after a split decision.

Agustus agreed that the dissenting opinion be disclosed to the public so that people would know the decision made by the ad hoc judges and regular judges.

"Let it be transparent," he said.

But Sihol maintained that under normal procedure, a dissenting opinion must be kept confidential in court records and how a verdict is reached should not be disclosed as it might create further arguments and confusion. Agustus warned that the government must solve this problem quickly as transparency and legal certainty are crucial to the country's economic recovery.

He also pointed out that the assignment of ad hoc judges to examine IBRA's bankruptcy cases was part of the letter of intent agreed by the government and the IMF in January.

Meanwhile, IMF consultant Gregory Churchill said on Tuesday that if existing ad hoc judges declined to take the oath, the government must immediately appoint new ad hoc judges.

He said that the idea of disclosing a dissenting opinion was very positive, but it could not be accommodated by the existing law.

IBRA is filing a bankruptcy petition against three of its uncooperative debtors including trading firm PT ALatief Corporation which owes the agency some US$16.93 million in bad debts, crude palm oil processor PT Sumi Asih (Rp 73.94 billion and $16.73 million), and diversified PT Ometraco Corporation ($53.18 million).

IBRA has lost earlier bankruptcy cases. (rei/udi)

Index

Grup Humpuss adalah salah satu dari 20 obligor terbesar BPPN, dengan keseluruhan kredit macet mencapai Rp 5,7 trilyun. Di antara obligor-obligor BPPN, hingga saat ini, Grup Humpuss adalah satu-satunya obligor BPPN yang sudah berhasil mencapai penandatanganan perjanjian pokok restrukturisasi kredit macet.

Dijelaskan, dari Rp 235,38 milyar dan 355,85 juta dollar AS kredit yang direstrukturisasi tersebut, Rp 85,07 milyar dan 118,63 juta dollar AS berasal dari PT Humpuss, PT Humpuss Patragas, PT Sekar Artha Sentosa, PT Humpuss Pengolahan Minyak, PT Gatari Air Service. Restrukturisasi kelima perusahaan itu diselesaikan dengan pola pelunasan dengan uang tunai dan aset.

Sisanya, Rp 150,31 milyar dan 237,22 dollar AS berasal dari PT Mabua Intan Ekspress, PT Humpuss Terminal Petikemas, dan Humpuss Incorporation. Pola restrukturisasi yang disetujui terhadap ketiga perusahaan itu adalah penjadwalan ulang.

"Penandatanganan perjanjian restrukturisasi ketiga perusahaan tersebut selambat-lambatnya dilakukan 30 hari setelah penandatanganan perjanjian pokok restrukturisasi utang," kata Hendro.

Dijelaskan pula, utang rupiah PT Sekar Artha Sentosa dan PT Gatari Air Service akan diselesaikan selambat-lambatnya 24 April 2000. Utang dollar AS PT Humpuss, PT Humpuss Patragas, PT Sekar Artha Sentosa, dan PT Humpuss Pengolahan Minyak akan diselesaikan selambat-lambatnya 30 Juni 2000.

Gatari tersendiri

Sementara, tanpa keterangan lebih jelas disebutkan, pelaksanaan pembayaran utang dollar AS PT Gatari Air Service akan diatur lebih lanjut dalam perjanjian tersendiri, yang selambat-lambatnya ditandatangani 30 hari sejak penandatangan perjanjian pokok restrukturisasi utang.

Menurut Hendro, sumber pelunasan utang Grup Humpuss untuk PT Humpuss, PT Humpuss Patragas, PT Sekar Artha Sentosa, PT Humpuss Pengolahan Minyak, PT Gatari Air Service, berasal dari dana tunai penjualan enam helikopter dan suku cadang pesawat PT Gatari Air Service, serta aset tanah dan bangunan. Total nilai yang ditetapkan BPPN atas sejumlah aset berupa tanah dan bangunan itu mencapai Rp 190 milyar. (fey)

Demikian diungkapkan Presiden Direktur BCA DE Setijoso dalam jumpa pers, Selasa (11/4), di Bandung, di sela roadshow dalam kaitan dengan rencana penawaran saham perdana (initial public offering/IPO) saham BCA kepada publik. Bandung merupakan kota kedua sasaran roadshow setelah Jakarta. Menyusul kemudian Semarang, Surabaya dan roadshow di luar negeri.

Tanpa menyebut angka pasti, Setijoso mengakui, Mbak Tutut memang pernah menanam saham di BCA sekitar 10 persen. Namun, dalam proses rekapitalisasi selanjutnya, ia menarik sahamnya. Sehingga secara riil, BPPN mendominasi saham BCA dengan porsi 92,8 persen. Sebanyak 7,2 persen lainnya dimiliki Grup Salim dan lainnya.

Dengan dalih profesional, Setijoso sendiri mengaku tak tahu persis porsi dan kontribusi para pemegang saham. Ditegaskan, antara urusan manajemen dan komisaris saling terpisah.

Bank sehat

Tentang pembagian dividen BCA yang baru dilakukan tiga tahun setelah penawaran tahun 2000, Setijoso menegaskan, hal itu bukan alasan untuk menyurutkan minat publik membeli saham yang ditawarkan seharga Rp 1.350 - Rp 1.850/saham. Ia juga menjamin, keterpurukan permodalan akibat krisis moneter pada tahun 1997-1998, tak akan terulang lagi karena secara dominan saham BCA saat ini telah milik pemerintah.

Lagi pula, menurut penjamin pelaksana emisi Reinaldi Firmansyah dari PT Bahana Securities, investasi publik di pasar modal itu tidak berorientasi utama pada dividen. Melainkan, pada kenaikan dan kestabilan harga saham. "Dividen itu hanya sekunder. Yang primer adalah keuntungan dari laju kenaikan harga saham," katanya.

Menurut Reinaldi, publik tak perlu ragu akan kinerja BCA kendati satu-dua tahun terakhir mengalami kerugian. Ia menilai, kinerja BCA sejak tahun 1970-an hingga tahun 1998 senantiasa menguntungkan. "Bisa disebut track record BCA mungkin lebih baik dibanding perusahaan-perusahaan lainnya yang telah terdaftar di Bursa Efek Jakarta dan Bursa Efek Surabaya," kata Reinaldi. (nar)