BRI RAISES $6.73B IN RIGHTS ISSUE, LARGEST IN S.E.A

State-controlled lender PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) raised 96 trillion rupiah ($6.73 billion) from a rights issue this month, the biggest transaction of this type in Southeast Asia, according to the Indonesia Stock Exchange chief Inarno Djajadi.

The rights issue is part of the government’s plan to create a holding company for “ultra micro” state financing firms with BRI at the helm.

The bank sold around 28 billion shares through the rights issue, Inarno told a virtual briefing on Wednesday.

Through the transaction, the government transferred 54.7 trillion rupiah worth of shares in two state finance firms, pawnshop chain Pegadaian and micro-lending firm Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM), to BRI.

“We want to provide financing to as many people as possible with as low as possible close, that’s the point of the synergy between BRI, Pegadaian and PNM,” BRI Chief Executive Sunarno told the same briefing.

The remaining proceeds, in cash, will be used as working capital for BRI to develop ecosystems for the newly formed holding firm, the company said.

According to a disclosure from BRI, after the rights issue the company will have total assets of 1,515 trillion rupiah and 997 trillion rupiah of loan distribution. That compared to 1,411 trillion rupiah in assets and 914 trillion in loans before the transaction.