IBRA sells part of First Pacific stake, raises $52 million

The Indonesian government raised $52 million through the sale of a 6% stake in First Pacific, a Hong Kong conglomerate, to help meet budgetary requirements following its rescue of the country's banks following the currency crisis of two years ago, said a banker at ING Barings, which managed the sale.

The Indonesia Bank Restructuring Agency held 9% of First Pacific's stock through Holdiko Perkasa, an investment holding company and Badanpenyehatan Perbankan Nasional. It sold 6% of that holding, Barings said.

The agency sold 177.48 million shares at $2.28 each. The price represented a 4.8% discount to the average price of First Pacific's stock in the two weeks preceding the sale on Wednesday. It represented a 12.3% discount to First Pacific's closing price of HK$2.60 on Tuesday.

The stock was sold to a small number of institutional investors around the world, ING Barings said. First Pacific's stock has fallen 55% since the beginning of the year.