Astra shares surge 6% on speculation of coming big buying<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Shares in car maker Astra International leaped 6
\npercent yesterday to close at Rp 4,250 (US$1.81), up from Rp
\n4,000 on Monday, as investors took position to anticipate
\nforthcoming big buying, dealers said.<\/p>\n
Several dealers contacted by The Jakarta Post said that the
\ntrigger for investors' speculation was a report that businessman
\nPutera Sampoerna may increase its ownership in Astra from the
\ncurrent level of 9.8 percent, in addition to PT Nusantara Ampera
\nBakti's (Nusamba) plan to acquire big stake in Astra this week.<\/p>\n
\"I think investors are just trying to take position before
\nNusamba gets into the market,\" a senior dealer from PT Pentasena,
\nA. Sumirat told the Post.<\/p>\n
Astra recorded a trading volume of 11.5 million shares
\nyesterday, of which around six million shares were traded on the
\nregular board.<\/p>\n
A dealer with PT Asian Development Securities said several
\nbrokerage firms, including PT Makindo, PT Peregrine Sewu
\nSecurities and PT SBC Warburg, made big transactions on Astra
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
The dealers, however, said there was no indication that
\nNusamba already started to accumulate Astra shares yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"I would also say that the active buying on Astra was
\nsupported by a foreign fund inflow in late afternoon,\" Sumirat
\nadded.<\/p>\n
The dealers said that the come-back of foreign investors also
\nhelped boost trading on the cigarette maker HM Sampoerna,
\nsupported with a positive report that it will sell its 2.8
\npercent stake in Astra.<\/p>\n
HM Sampoerna's financial director, Eka Dharmadjanto, was
\nquoted by Bisnis Indonesia daily yesterday as saying that the
\ncompany is willing to sell Astra shares currently owned by its
\nfully subsidiary, Sampoerna Financial Corporation.<\/p>\n
Eka also said that Putera may also increase its stake in
\nAstra.<\/p>\n
HM Sampoerna's share price continued to increase yesterday to
\nclose at Rp 20,475 after hitting Rp 21,000, up by 9.6 percent
\nduring the last two days.<\/p>\n
The dealers, however, viewed differently on the major reason
\nfor such an increase. Some said that HM Sampoerna got a positive
\nsupport from its plan to sell its shares in Astra while other
\npointed HM Sampoerna's stronger third quarter result as the main
\nreason.<\/p>\n
They said that the plan to sell its Astra shares is a positive
\naction and therefore helped Sampoerna to regain investors'
\nconfidence.<\/p>\n
HM Sampoerna's director of corporate development, Jonathan
\nZax, confirmed yesterday that the company recorded a 29 percent
\nincrease in its net revenue from Rp 449 billion in the third
\nquarter of last year to Rp 583 billion in the same period of this
\nyear, with major contribution coming from the sales of its \"Dji
\nSam Soe\" cigarettes and the new brand \"A Mild\".<\/p>\n
Commenting on the statement made by HM Sampoerna's financial
\ndirector, Jonathan said that the statement should not be
\ninterpreted as an announcement of an action but an intention.<\/p>\n
\"We are preparing to sell our stake, meaning that we will sell
\nit if there is an attractive offer to buy,\" Jonathan told the
\nPost.<\/p>\n
\"We didn't say that we are going to sell our shares.\"<\/p>\n
He declined to comment on a market speculation that HM
\nSampoerna might have negotiated with Nusamba for the planned
\ntransaction by saying \"I'm not in a position to comment on such a
\nspeculation.\"<\/p>\n
Active buying on Astra and HM Sampoerna, however, failed to
\nlift up the JSX Composite Index, which declined by 0.56 point to
\n571 points due to slight correction on other heavyweights
\nincluding Gudang Garam, Indosat and Semen Gresik. (alo)<\/p>",
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