Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Bank Indonesia will summon the management of DBS Singapore in connection with plans to purchase 67.37 percent of Bank Danamon's shares belonging to Fullerton Financial Holding, Darmin Nasution said.

"We will summon DBS Singapore and discuss many things, but what the essence of the discussions will be, we cannot tell yet until we receive an official letter from them," Nasution, the central bank's governor, said here on Wednesday.

Darmin added that he had not received an official letter from DBS nor from Danamon Bank regarding the plan, so it was difficult to comment about it.

He noted that the purchase did not violate rules on limits of bank share ownership, which is currently under study by BI.

"We have not issued the rule yet, but we have a fair idea of its direction," Nasution said.

Meanwhile, BI deputy governor Muliaman D Hadad said BI would ask for information from DBS regarding its plan to purchase Danamon Bank shares.

"This is a standard procedure applied to any party wishing to purchase shares. They must tell us what their intention is and where their focus lies," he said.

Regarding the limit on bank share ownership, he said its implication is still being studied, especially its impact on the banking industry.

"It is not yet imaginable because the rule is maximally 99 percent. We cannot comment on the figures yet, but the issue is that we have to improve governance and responsibility," he added.

Thus, with regard to DBS`s plan to buy shares held by FFH, BI still holds to old rules that allow a purchase of up to 99 percent of shares, he said.

On April 2, DBS Singapore announced a deal with Fullerton Financial Holding to acquire 100 percent of FHH shares in Danamon Bank Indonesia.

DBS will purchase the shares at Rp45.2 trillion, or at around Sing$6.2 billion.

The two parties agreed on the purchase of the shares at Rp7,000 per share, with payment made in the form of 439 million new DBS shares at an issuance price of Sing$14.07 per share.

(H-YH/KR-BSR/O001)

Editor: Ade P Marboen
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