Investors May Acquire Sarijaya Assets for Rp 400bn

Yohanes Obor, The Jakarta Globe, January 8, 2009 

A consortium of four investors says it is interested in taking over troubled brokerage PT Sarijaya Permana Sekuritas, which has been in limbo since its owner was arrested for allegedly embezzling Rp 245 billion ($22.5 million) of his clients’ money. 

Sarijaya owner Herman Ramli has been in police custody since Dec. 24 on charges that he misused clients’ funds. The money was spread across 8,000 accounts, 6,000 of which were held by retail investors. 

The Indonesian Stock Exchange suspended Sarijaya’s brokerage business on Tuesday, following orders from the Capital Market and Financial Institutions Supervisory Agency, or Bapepam-LK. The agency is also investigating why Sarijaya’s net-adjusted capital, a minimum requirement for stock trading, had gone into the negatives. 

The Indonesian Central Securities Depository also froze all accounts under Sarijaya on Tuesday, while the Indonesian Stock Market Clearing House froze all Sarijaya assets, other than transactions that have already been completed. 

Vier Abdul Jamal, a spokesperson for the consortium, said the investors have prepared Rp 400 billion to acquire Sarijaya. The investors expect to reach a deal this week. 

“Rp 250 billion will be used to pay for the recovery [of client’s funds], while Rp 150 billion is to be used for the firm’s expansion,” Vier said. 

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Bapepam-LK said it was planning to unfreeze the company’s assets soon so they could be sold. 

Sarijaya, one of Indonesia’s largest brokerages, has 48 branches. Vier said Sarijaya assets include a plastics factory, a multifinance firm and an insurance firm. These have been surrendered to Bapepam-LK and are worth an estimated Rp 245 billion, said IDX chief Erry Firmansyah. 

Two investors in the consortium are from Hong Kong, one is from Melbourne and the other is a local, Vier said. 

He also said the consortium had no affiliation with Sarijaya’s former owner and had no plans to sell the group back to him. 

Vier described the consortium as a hedge fund that had been formed to acquire Sarijaya. 

Currently, Sarijaya is 60 percent owned by PT Karya Asa Mandiri Pratama, while PT Puri Jaya Jagat Abadi owns the remaining 40 percent. 

Puri Jaya was once a subsidiary of the now-defunct PT Bank Bali, a company that was owned by the Ramli family. 

Herman’s older brother Rudy Ramli made headlines in 2000 after he was prosecuted for transferring $80 million from Bank Bali to a firm run by then Golkar Party Deputy Treasurer Setya Novanto. Some politicians claimed the money was being used as a bribe. The court later acquitted Rudy of all charges. 

Sarijaya is the latest in a string of brokerages under investigation. Bapepam-LK is currently investigating 49 other securities fraud cases.