INTERVIEW-Indonesia lender BTN eyes IPO, good bond demand

* Up to 30 pct stake sale via IPO in Q4 or early next year
* IPO may raise around 2 trln rupiah ($191 million) * To use IPO proceeds to strengthen capital
* Sees healthy demand for $142 million bond on offer

NUSA DUA, Indonesia -
Indonesia's state-owned home lender PT Bank Tabungan Negara expects to sell up to a 30 percent stake, worth around $191 million, late this year or in early 2010, to strengthen its capital, an executive said on Monday.

An IPO had been put in doubt after the stock market fell sharply late last year, but recent share gains, spurred by better-than-expected company earnings, have made it attractive for the state to sell shares in BTN, one of the country's top-10 banks by assets, said Evi Firmansyah, vice president director.

Firmansyah said the loan market for landed houses was strong, in line with some sectors in the economy that remain resilient due to large domestic demand.
Central Bank Governor Boediono told Reuters on Sunday that boosting demand in the large domestic market would be key to a quick recovery in Southeast Asia's biggest economy. His comments came ahead of a policy meeting on Tuesday.

BTN is a leading home lender in Indonesia, with a particularly strong presence in the loan market for first time home buyers from the low and middle income segments.
The unlisted lender had outstanding loans of 30.8 trillion rupiah at end-2008, 97 percent of which are mortgage loans. It posted 2008 net profit of 430.5 billion rupiah, up 7 percent.

"We have submitted the names of the proposed underwriters to the government," Firmansyah told Reuters on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank in Bali.

"We expect it in the fourth quarter, if that's not possible then it would be in the first quarter of 2010." he said, referring to the IPO.
He declined to name the proposed underwriters.

"There will be up to a 30 percent stake for sale during the IPO," he said. "All the proceeds from the sale of the new shares will go to the bank to strengthen its capital."

Firmansyah said the move would give BTN more room to boost lending. The bank has said it aims to increase lending by 14 percent this year. "It's very crucial now to increase capital. This is also in order to allow for credit expansion," he said.
BTN has said it expected to boost lending by 14 percent this year.

Firmansyah said he expected healthy demand for BTN's 1.5 trillion rupiah ($142 million) bond issue currently being offered to investors, due to expectations of falling interest rates.

The central bank cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 7.5 percent last month, bringing total cuts to 200 bps since December to support economic growth.
BTN planned to price the bond issue to yield 150-250 bps above comparable government bonds, one underwriter said in April. Marciano Herman, head of investment banking at PT Danareksa Sekuritas, has said the yield would be decided at the end of the book building on May 26.

Danareksa, PT Mandiri Sekuritas and PT Trimegah Securities have been appointed underwriters. ($1=10,590 rupiah). From Reuters.