In his previous role, Mr Prasetya was one of Unifiber's advisers, leading the talks and sourcing for funds to finance the purchase of Kiani Kertas.

　　INDONESIAN forestry-related group United Fiber System (Unifiber) has named a former investment banker as its new chief executive officer (CEO).

　　The appointment of Mr Jaka Prasetya, 35, is also an attempt by the company to find closure to what has been a long-drawn saga over its bid to gain control of Indonesian pulp mill Kiani Kertas.

　　The mandate given to Mr Prasetya, previously the head of country banking at Deutsche Bank Indonesia, was clear and simple.

　　'My instruction is to conclude the deal,' he said at a press conference yesterday.

　　In his previous role, Mr Prasetya was one of the advisers for Unifiber, leading the negotiations and sourcing for funds to finance the pulp mill purchase.

　　His appointment as CEO comes at a crucial time for Unifiber, which mounted a multi- million-dollar bid for the pulp mill in June last year, but has so far found little success in closing the deal.

　　The acquisition is riddled with complexities as Kiani Kertas is heavily in debt to Bank Mandiri. The pulp mill is also owned by a company belonging to former Indonesian military general Prabowo Subianto.

　　'Acquiring Kiani Kertas will give Unifiber's growth plans a big boost, but we cannot negotiate forever on the deal,' Mr Prasetya said.

　　The issue, he added, is no longer about the funds to finance the US$475 million (S$756 million) deal, but more about 'getting the nod from Mr Prabowo'.

　　'It's a big project for us. It's also a big project for Mr Prabowo. I can totally understand if he's taking his time. We've already put everything on the table. But it takes two to tango,' Mr Prasetya said.

　　He dismissed talks of other potential buyers who could derail Unifiber's efforts, saying that the company is by far in the 'best position' to secure the pulp mill.

　　Apart from getting the blessings of Kiani Kertas' biggest creditor, Bank Mandiri, Mr Prasetya said that Unifiber has been operating the pulp mill even before the deal is completed.

　　Unifiber has so far pumped in about US$45 million of working capital into Kiani Kertas to keep it running.

　　Mr Prasetya hopes to close the deal by year-end, but added that Unifiber is ready to walk away if it 'doesn't make sense'.

　　Unifiber, he said, still has its vast forestry plantation in South Kalimantan, a wood-chip mill in the vicinity that will start operating next month, and a local construction arm that has an order book worth $215 million to date.

　　Mr Prasetya, who holds an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, takes over the reins from his predecessor, Mr Kishore Dass, who announced his resignation in April.

　　Unifiber shares yesterday added 0.5 cent to close at 21 cents.

《Straits Times》