BTN gains govt approval to issue bond, MTNs

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 01/02/2009 10:28 AM  

State-owned Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN), which is primarily a mortgage lender, announced Wednesday it has received government and shareholders approval to issue bonds and medium-term notes (MTNs) as part of an effort to diversify its portfolio. 

The bank has said it will issue Rp 1.5 trillion (US$134.9 million) in bonds early this year. 

"The government has approved our plan to issue the bonds," BTN president director Iqbal Latanro said. 

BTN will split its issuance to Rp 500 billion in bonds in the first half of the year and Rp 1 trillion in the second half, Iqbals said. 

BTN plans to offer investors an interest rate fixed to one percentage point more than average government bond rates. 

"If the current government bond rate is 12 percent, we will offer investors 13 percent," finance director Saut Pardede said. 

Iqbal said the government had also approved for BTN to issue MTNs in the event that the bonds did not generate the targeted funds. 

MTNs have higher interest rates but shorter maturity periods compared to regular bonds. 

"The point is that this year's issuance will be more flexible," Iqbal added. 

As of September 2008, BTN had generated Rp 27.9 trillion in third-party funds, a 25.7 percent jump from Rp 22.3 trillion during the same period in 2007. 

In the first nine months of 2008, BTN disbursed Rp 12.1 trillion in loans, far higher than the company's full-year target of Rp 10.04 trillion. 

As of September 2008, BTN's loan to deposit ratio (LDR) stood at 107.4 percent, while its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) -- a gauge of a bank's financial health -- stood at 16.8 percent, higher than the central bank's mandatory minimum level of 8 percent. 

In the January to September period last year, BTN booked Rp 445 billion in net profit, up 14 percent from Rp 507 billion in the same period of 2007. 

Iqbal said he was confident BTN's loan disbursement would increase by 15 to 20 percent this year, with the majority being mortgages. 

BTN is one of a number of state companies that had planned to sell 30 percent of their respective values through initial public offerings (IPO) last year, but postponed the offerings to this year because of the recent stock market rout. 

The funds generated through the IPOs will be used to fund loans to support the government's affordable housing program, and to strengthen the banks' operations. 

The government plans to provide 483,000 low-cost houses for low-income people between 2007 and 2009, in cooperation with BTN. (hwa)