JAKARTA: Minister of Finance Bambang Sudibyo installed Irwan Siregar as the new deputy chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) in charge of loan recovery, replacing Eko S. Budianto, at a closed- door ceremony on Tuesday.

Bambang later told a news conference that the replacement that analysts saw as unusually abrupt was an internal affair and a decision within the jurisdiction of IBRA chairman Cacuk Sudarijanto.

Cacuk, who fired Eko on Monday, did not attend the ceremony as he was in Singapore attending a conference.

"I am simply fulfilling the request from Cacuk to replace Eko," he told reporters.

Speaking at a forum of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Cacuk said the move was aimed at speeding up IBRA's asset disposal program.

"I know my staff. I am not saying he was slow but I know him and my reason (for asking him to leave IBRA) is only for the acceleration of sales," he was quoted by AFP as saying.

Irwan was formerly Eko's deputy in the division which is in charge of restructuring more than Rp 220 trillion (US$29.7 billion) worth of bad loans taken over from closed down, nationalized and restructured banks.

Bambang said he agreed with Cacuk that the replacement was aimed at improving the dynamics of the agency which managed about Rp 600 trillion worth of assets and bad loans.

IBRA, according to Bambang, is an independent institution and any recommendation made by the agency's chairman should be met as long as it is for the sake of the agency's betterment.

Bambang hoped Irwan would accelerate the restructuring process of the nonperforming loans under IBRA.

"The nonperforming loans are the cause of the economic stagnation in Indonesia, where 40 percent of production capacity is not being utilized," Bambang added.

Eko told reporters after the installation ceremony that he was only notified of his dismissal on Monday evening.

Eko, who was brought to IBRA by former chairman Glenn Yusuf, said he had worked for IBRA for almost two years.

He claimed that he and his team had successfully built a working system for IBRA so the agency could run like it was now doing.

"My replacement will make bad debtors happy but will be detrimental to IBRA's mission," Eko said.

He said he was replaced for what Cacuk called a "better, dynamic organization".

"But the real reason is that we have differences of opinion on the system of asset valuation," Eko added, recalling his spat with Cacuk.

He added that for three months he and Cacuk had principal differences of opinion regarding the system of valuing assets.

Cacuk took over the helm of the powerful agency from Glenn Yusuf in December.

Eko recalled an incident a few weeks ago where one of his assistants was accused of accepting bribes but subsequent investigations proved his assistant was clean.

"This was only a conspiracy to discredit me," he added.

IBRA senior deputy chairman Arwin Rasyid acknowledged that Cacuk did not like Eko's style.

"But Cacuk has the right to set up a team he fully trusts," Arwin added.

Adler Manurung, a senior analyst at Nikko Securities Indonesia discounted any negative rumors surrounding the replacement of Eko.

He said he could see nothing negative about such a replacement as the new person taking over Eko's position came from within IBRA.

"Nothing looks negative and suspicious, it is all positive. The new official is from within IBRA, so it is normal," he said.

Whoever replacing Eko, he hoped the new person could make some work improvements, according to Adler.

"And it is good that the new person is one who knows how the system at IBRA works," he added. (udi)

"About the 48 enterprises under IBRA, we got verbal or basic approval from Finance Minister Bambang Sudibyo and Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry Kwik Kian Gie (for) state enterprise recapitalization," IBRA chairman Cacuk Sudarijanto said at a news briefing here.

He was here to attend a forum of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The 48 companies owed IBRA some Rp 15 trillion (US$2 billion), he said.

To speed up debt restructuring, the government will issue bonds through state enterprises, with the companies using the proceeds to repay their debts to the banks, he said.

The restructuring of 48 state companies together with around 160,000 small and medium companies must be completed in the next two quarters.

Once the restructuring is completed, he said IBRA will end up handling about 1,000 large debtors.

The IBRA chief also defended a decision to replace a key official, saying the move was aimed at speeding up Indonesia's asset disposal program.

This week, IBRA had to complete its bank recapitalization plans, and ensure the successful initial public offering next month of one of the Indonesian banks, PT Bank Central Asia, he said.

IBRA has announced plans to sell within the year equity in at least 20 companies, and a good portion of 1,105 properties or bank offices, in a bid to raise $5.1 billion by December for the Indonesian budget. However, he said it will only sell 10 to 15 percent of Bank Central Asia instead of its initial target of more than 30 percent if the price is not high enough, Cacuk said.

He added IBRA will hold an international roadshow visiting Singapore, London, New York and four other cities in April.

Cacuk earlier said in a bid to ease its hefty workload, IBRA plans to farm out the job of restructuring loans valued at between Rp 5 billion (about $667,000) and Rp 50 billion to private banks, freeing up IBRA officials to concentrate on restructuring larger loans.

Agency officials say the IBRA will seek to outsource some restructuring work to several banks and pay them a fee for managing the loans as well as a percentage of loans restructured.

Cacuk said IBRA would seek to sell stakes in companies in the agribusiness, consumer goods, trading and property sectors. IBRA plans to sell the stakes through a mixture of initial public offerings and private placements.

IBRA has previously said that around nine of the 20 companies will be from the Salim Group.

IBRA's efforts to sell assets got a boost last week when it sold 39.5 percent of its stake in auto maker PT Astra International to a consortium led by Singapore's Cycle & Carriage Ltd. The sale is expected to spark other sales to foreign investors.

In addition, Cacuk said IBRA's short-term priorities include selling off stakes in state-owned companies and initiating government-wide restructuring of state companies.

JAKARTA: Kepala Badan Penyehatan Perbankan Nasional (BPPN) Cacuk Sudarijanto mengemukakan, penggantian pejabat Deputi Kepala BPPN dari Eko S Budianto kepada Irwan Siregar dikarenakan Eko lambat dalam merestrukturisasi aset yang ada di BPPN.

''Sudah pasti kami membutuhkan kepemimpinan yang baru, kami butuh seseorang yang tangguh yang mampu bekerja sama dengan semua debitor,'' kata Cacuk, di sela sebuah seminar di Singapura, Selasa (28/3). Ditambahkan, penggantian Eko dilakukan atas persetujuan Presiden Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur), berkenaan mandat Presiden untuk mempercepat proses restrukturisasi aset.

Cacuk sendiri tidak hadir pada acara pelantikan Irwan di Gedung Depkeu, Selasa. Menkeu Bambang Sudibyo yang melantik Irwan, mengatakan, penggantian Eko merupakan usulan Cacuk. ''Pak Cacuk meyakinkan saya pergantian ini penting untuk percepatan. Itu saja, nothing personal terhadap saudara Eko,'' ujarnya. Sebelumnya Irwan menjabat sebagai Kepala Divisi Non Performance Loan (NPL).

Bambang mengaku menyetujui usulan Cacuk tersebut karena BPPN memandang langkah tersebut penting bagi peningkatan kinerja BPPN. ''Non Performing Loan (NPL/kredit bermasalah) di BPPN sangat besar sehingga kapasitas yang menganggur (idle capacity) di perusahaan Indonesia hampir sekitar 40 persen,'' ujar Bambang. Jika penyelesaian NPL dipercepat, diharapkan idle capacity bisa segera menjadi kapasitas aktif.

Didesak apakah pergantian ini terkait dengan kasus kredit macet Grup Texmaco di BNI, Bambang mengatakan tak ada kaitannya sama sekali. Pergantian Eko, menurutnya juga bukan merupakan salah satu akibat dari kegagalan Eko dalam menangani permasalahan selama ini. ''Saya kira tidak spesifik seperti itu, tidak mesti orang yang diganti itu karena gagal, tidak mesti,'' kata Bambang lagi.

Lampaui target

Secara terpisah, Eko menuturkan, variabel penyelesaian masalah NPL dan negosiasi restrukturisasi bukan hanya BPPN. ''Selain BPPN, ada debitor dan pihak ketiga yang lain. Cepat lambatnya restrukturisasi bergantung pada apakah seluruh elemen itu mempunyai visi yang sama,'' jelas Eko.

Eko mengakui, restrukturisasi kredit macet debitor-debitor besar memang agak lambat. Namun, menurutnya Bagian Aset Management Credit (AMC) yang dipimpinnya telah berhasil melampaui target penerimaan yang dibebankan.

''Target AMC untuk tahun anggaran 1999/2000 adalah Rp 5,4 trilyun. Jika ditambah dengan saham PT Astra International Tbk yang dijaminkan dan telah dieksekusi, AMC sudah mengumpulkan sekitar Rp 7 trilyun. Namun, target itu di mata orang tidak hanya uang, tetapi juga misalnya mengapa proses restrukturisasinya lambat banget,'' kata Eko.

Dikatakan, tugasnya sesuai misi BPPN adalah memaksimalkan tingkat pengembalian. ''Saya harus melakukan sebaik-baiknya, sehingga mungkin saya dianggap terlalu kaku dan terlalu keras,'' katanya. Eko juga menolak menjawab apakah pemberhentian dirinya karena ia menolak diintervensi atau berkenaan dengan kasus Bank Central Asia (BCA) dan Texmaco.

Sumber Kompas di BPPN menyebutkan, dalam kasus BCA, Eko adalah Deputi BPPN yang menolak keras Bagian Asset Management Investment (AMI) BPPN menjual kredit kepada BCA dengan harga murah, agar BCA dapat mengoptimalkan operasinya menjelang initial public offering/IPO (penawaran saham perdana). Sementara, pada kasus Texmaco, Eko disebut-sebut tidak begitu saja menyetujui penjaminan BPPN terhadap letter of credit sebesar Rp 720 milyar yang diberikan BNI kepada Texmaco.

Cacuk menuturkan, penggantian Eko itu bagian terakhir dari serangkaian perombakan (reshuffles) manajemen, baik di BPPN maupun di lembaga lain. Sementara Menko Ekuin Kwik Kian Gie yang juga menjabat Ketua Komite Kebijakan Sektor Finansial/KKSK (lembaga pengawas dan pelindung BPPN), mengatakan, penggantian Eko belum dikonsultasikan. ''Itu urusan Cacuk, tetapi akan dilaporkan kepada KKSK,'' katanya. (fey/joe/AP)