GOVT TO AUCTION STATE SUKUK AS OF OCTOBER 2009

Jakarta, Sept 12 (ANTARA) - The Finance Ministry is set to auction state sharia bonds (SBSN) in October 2009 after which the auction will be conducted on a regular basis, a spokesman said.

The government planned to issue and sell SBSN or state sukuk by auction in the domestic market to meet part of financing target in the state budget, head of the ministry's public relations bureau Harry Z. Soeratin said in a statement on Friday.

The sukuk structure to be used in the issuance of SBSN by auction would be Ijarah-sale and lease back the government had so far used in the issuance of state sukuk through bookbuilding, he said.

He said the underlying assets to be used in the auction of SBSN would be state properties approved by the House of Representatives (DPR).

The plan to issue SBSN by auction had secured a fatwa (edict) and sharia compliant statement from the National Sharia Council - the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), he said.

Until the first week of September 2009, nine banks and four securities companies have registered with the ministry to bid for the SBSN.

The banks are PT Bank Mandiri Tbk, PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk, PT Bank Permata Tbk, PT Bank Panin Tbk, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC), PT Bank OCBC NISP Tbk, Standard Chartered Bank, PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk, and PT Bank Internasional Indonesia Tbk.

The four securities companies are PT Danareksa Sekuritas, PT Trimegah Securities Tbk, PT Bahana Securities, and PT Mandiri Sekuritas.