Indonesian tycoon eyes StanChart unit

  INDONESIAN tycoon Tahir is keen to gain control of Bank Permata, a larger rival to his Bank Mayapada International, as he seeks to put his lender in the ranks of the nation’s biggest banks.
Tahir’s Mayapada Group wants to buy the 90 per cent of Permata that is owned by Standard Chartered Plc and Astra International and merge it with Bank Mayapada to create Indonesia’s largest non-government bank by assets after Bank Central Asia, he said. 
The group has been buying shares of Permata from the market since November, said Tahir, who uses only one name. Standard Chartered and Astra own 45 per cent each in Permata. 
A merger will help Tahir, whose businesses range from healthcare to media and real estate, to expand Bank Mayapada’s footprint and compete more effectively with state-run lenders and BCA. 

Betting on financial services
Tahir is betting financial services will be among the businesses best placed to benefit from the expansion in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, and said he’s confident of tackling a surge in bad loans at Permata that has weighed on the stock’s performance.
“Permata, in my guess, is facing a tough time on the non-performing loans,” Tahir said in an interview at his office in South Jakarta. 
“I don’t see the reason why Standard Chartered needs to keep Permata. My strategy is, if the shareholders of Bank Mayapada can have a chance to buy out Bank Permata, then it must be merged with Bank Mayapada.”
A spokesman for Standard Chartered declined to comment on Tahir’s interest in Permata and said the UK bank is committed to Indonesia, a market that it considers to be strategically important. 
Tira Ardianti, head of investor relations for Astra, said it would continue to support Permata. 
A spokesman for Permata didn’t respond to emailed request for comments. Permata is Indonesia’s fifth-largest private-sector bank, with assets of 171 trillion rupiah (Bt449 billion. 
Its non-performing loans ratio was 4.9 per cent in the quarter ended September 30, according to its website. That’s higher than the 3.2-per-cent average among the nation’s top banks, Financial Services Authority data show. 
Mayapada’s ratio stood at 2.4 per cent at the end of September, according to Indonesia Stock Exchange figures.
Moody’s Investors Service said on Thursday that pressure on Permata’s negative outlook remained because of deteriorating asset quality and profitability, as well as uncertainties over future support from its key shareholders.
“Mergers between smaller banks can help them speed up their growth rate and bolster their books,” said Andy Ferdinand, head of research at Samuel Sekuritas Indonesia. 
“By moving into the top tier, they will be allowed to do more businesses” by the regulator, he said.
At least three banks have offered to finance Mayapada group in an acquisition of Permata, Tahir said. If it fails to complete a takeover, the group will scout for another lender, he said.
Bank Mayapada is Indonesia’s 11th-largest non-state bank, with assets of 53.8 trillion rupiah. 
A merger with Permata will spawn an entity with about 400 branches and more than 10,000 employees. 
Bank Mayapada had a market value of 12.3 trillion rupiah as of Friday, less than Permata’s 16.1 trillion rupiah. 
Permata rallied as much as 5.4 per cent to 785 rupiah on Monday, the highest intraday level since May 11. Shares of Permata have gained 38 per cent this year after sliding at least 35 per cent in each of the previous two years. 
Mayapada is 21 per cent lower in 2017 following two years of advance.