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UPDATE 2-StanChart enters fray for Indonesia's Bank Permata

(Adds adviser details in last para)

HONG KONG, July 23 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered Plc. said on Friday it will team up with an Indonesian car distributor to bid for a 71 percent state-held stake in PT Bank Permata Tbk. , worth around $250 million.

StanChart , which is London-based but highly focused on Asia, joins a growing list of potential suitors for a chance to get a foothold in Indonesia's banking sector.

On Thursday, Indonesian authorities said over 32 institutions were interested in the state's stake in Permata. The stake is worth 2.2 trillion rupiah ($243 million) based on 1.8 times the bank's book value.

Of the banks taken over by the state after the 1997-98 Asia financial crisis, Permata is the last to be sold under a government sell-off programme. Jakarta has already raised $1.5 billion from selling majority stakes in five banks.

StanChart said it would put in a joint bid with PT Astra International Tbk. for control of Permata, which would be run as an independent entity if a sale went through.

No bid terms were disclosed.

Astra, around 42 percent owned by Singapore's Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd , is Indonesia's largest car distributor, while Permata has a strong presence in the consumer and auto loan markets.

Other banks to have expressed an interest in the Permata stake include Singapore's state investment arm Temasek Holdings Ltd., Malaysia's largest lender Malayan Banking Bhd. and Indonesia's two biggest banks, PT Bank Mandiri Tbk. and PT Bank Central Asia Tbk. (BCA) .

Permata shares, up 30 percent this year, gained 2.63 percent to 975 rupiah on Friday.

Permata, which is 97 percent state-owned, had total assets of 29 trillion rupiah at end-2003.

Investment bank Rothschild [ROT.UL] is an adviser to the consortium.

($1 = 9,058 rupiah) (Additional reporting by Harry Suhartono in Jakarta)