Govt Urged to Cancel BTN Acquisition

Jakarta (Antara) - The Indonesian Association of Housing and Settlement Developers (Apersi) has urged the government to cancel the planned acquisition of state-owned Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) by fellow state lender Bank Mandiri. "We hope that the government would not only postpone but also cancel the acquisition of Bank Tabungan Negara by Bank Mandiri," Apersi Secretary General HM. Hidayat said following a peaceful rally rejecting the planned acquisition of BTN in the Hotel Indonesia roundabout here on Sunday. He said such rally was held spontaneously across Indonesia. Given the objection to the acquisition of BTN, the government need not take the corporate action because it would have an impact on the public, particularly low-income people, he said. "We fear that BTN's focus on channeling home loans will be disrupted if the planned acquisition materializes," he said. Both BTN and Bank Mandiri had different vision and mission, he said. "So far, Bank Mandiri has focused on large corporate credits, while BTN has focused on retail home loans which are mostly extended to low-income people," he said. Chief of the association's chapter in Banten province, Sabri Nurdin shared Hidayat's view saying the acquisition of BTN would disrupt the availability of low-cost houses. "Acquisition is not the only solution to the backlog of the public housing today," he said.(*) Reporting by Wuryanti Puspitasari