Bank Rakyat Indonesia Syariah to sell 2.6 mln shares in IPO early May

Photo: A woman walks past a Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) automated teller machine (ATM) in Jakarta December 4, 2009. State-owned BRI is the parent bank of BRI Syariah. REUTERS/Crack Palinggi

JAKARTA - Indonesia’s Bank Rakyat Indonesia Syariah (BRI Syariah), a subsidiary of state-owned listed lender Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), will offer a maximum of 2,623,350,600 new shares, equivalent to 27 percent of its total issued and paid up capital, at its initial public offering (IPO) in May, Hadi Santoso, its president director told journalists in Jakarta today.

BRI Syariah’s IPO will be the first of its kind for a state-owned Islamic subsidiary bank. It is eyeing between 1.3 trillion Indonesian rupiah ($96.2 million) and 1.7 trillion rupiah from the sale of its shares of between 505 rupiah to 650 rupiah a piece.

Santoso said the IPO for public investors will take place on May 2, 3, and 4.

"In line with BRI Syariah’s vision to be the largest modern retail bank in Indonesia, we are expediting the company’s expansion starting with a move to strengthen the company's core capital,” said Santoso.

BRI Syariah is Indonesia’s third largest Islamic bank with 31.5 trillion rupiah in assets at the end of 2017, according to its annual report. Bank Syariah Mandiri is the biggest, holding assets of 87.8 trillion rupiah, followed by Bank Muamalat with 61.7 trillion rupiah, according to their respective annual reports.

Santoso said the IPO will boost BRI Syariah’s classification to Bank BUKU III (Tier III), which is the category for banks with minimum core capital of 5 trillion Indonesian rupiah. Currently Bank Syariah Mandiri is the only Islamic bank in this category. The remaining 11 Islamic banks, including BRI Syariah, are still in the lower Tier II and I categories.

BRI Syariah will allocate about 80 percent of its IPO proceeds to boost its financing offering, said Santoso.

Around 12.5 percent will be allocated to develop its Information Technology system, and around 7.5 percent will be channeled into new branch offices from Sabang in Sumatara to Merauke in Papua.

"We aim to become a game changer for Shariah banking in Indonesia through a more rapid Shariah business expansion, especially in boosting financing. First, by providing retail-based financing, namely consumer retail and micro retail. Second, in line with the government's focus on infrastructure development, we will provide commercial financing in this sector, primarily for state-owned enterprises and their subsidiaries," said Santoso.

"We will also develop digital technology in our business, to facilitate our customers and further increase the company’s productivity," he added.

The IPO is the next step in BRI Syariah’s corporate growth strategy after it successfully managed Sukuk Subordinasi Mudharabah in 2016 with up to 1 trillion rupiah of funds collected.

According to Santoso, BRI Syariah will list on the Indonesia Stock (IDX) in the first half of 2018.

The bank has appointed Bahana Sekuritas, CLSA Sekuritas Indonesia, Danareksa Sekuritas, and Indo Premier Sekuritas as joint lead underwriters with full commitment based on book-building results.

Indonesia’s Islamic banking penetration was 5.74 percent of national banking assets in December 2017, according to data from the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

($1 = 13,769 Indonesian rupiah)

(Reporting by Yosi Winosa; Editing by Emmy Abdul Alim [email protected])

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles

© SalaamGateway.com 2018 All Rights Reserved