Publicly listed diversified conglomerate PT Astra International and British lender Standard Chartered Bank have agreed to lower the sale price of Bank Permata as the COVID-19 pandemic poses risks to the financial industry.

Both companies agreed to amend the conditional sale and purchase agreement on April 20 with Thailand-based Bangkok Bank as the buyer.

“According to the amendment letter, the purchasing price has been changed to 1.63 times Bank Permata’s book value from 1.77 times its book value,” Astra International said in an information disclosure posted on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) website on April 20.

The change stated in the amendment letter is conditional upon the transaction being completed on or prior to June 30.

Astra’s investor relations head Tira Ardianti told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that the decision to lower the purchase price was made in light of the unfavorable economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Both the seller [Astra and SCB] and the buyer [Bangkok Bank] agreed to the incentive to complete the transaction as well as to provide a sense of certainty to the market during this uncertain time,” she said via text message.

Astra’s parent company Jardine Cycle and Carriage Ltd estimated the sale price to be about Rp 17.46 trillion (US$ 1.12 billion) for Astra, based on it being 1.63 times book value as of Dec. 31, 2019, according to a filing on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX).

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Bank Permata announced in December 2019 that Astra and Standard Chartered Bank, each holding a 44.56 percent stake in the bank, agreed to sell their stakes totaling 89.12 percent to Bangkok Bank.

The deal valued Bank Permata at 1.77 times its book value per September and indicated a purchase price of Rp 1,498 per share, meaning that Bangkok Bank would buy the two companies’ stakes for a total of Rp 37.44 trillion.