TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS) named Japanese investment company J Trust Co. Ltd. as a potential bidwinner for the acquisition of PT Bank Mutiara Tbk.—formerly known as bank Century.

J Trust's management said the company has received the notice from LPS regarding their election as bidwinner candidate.

Meanwhile, LPS spokesperson Samsu Adi Nugroho said J Trust was named as a candidate to follow OJK's fit and proper test. Whether J Trust will actually win the rights to acquire Bank Mutiara depends on the test results.

"J Trust's status is still a potential winning investor," he told Tempo yesterday.

Samsu said the Japanese company was chosen to participate in the bid because the company made the most profitable offer compared to other investors who have entered their initial proposals. However, Samsu he did not specify just how much J Trust is willing to pay for Mutiara Bank.

In May, LPS announced 11 candidates' who qualified the Bank Mutiara bid pre-qualification stage. Four of them are domestic investors, including PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. and seven other institutions from overseas such as Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.

Once OJK conducted the fit and proper test, the sales process is expected to be completed before the due date on November 21.

GANGSAR PARIKESIT | DINI PRAMITA | MAYA NAWANGWULAN