Astra to sell stake in Toyota JV<\/p>\n
Agence France Presse, Jakarta<\/p>\n
PT Astra International, the country's largest automotive firm,
\nwill on Thursday sign a memorandum of understanding on the
\nproposed sale of most of its stake in a joint venture with
\nJapan's Toyota Motor Corp., finance director John Slack said.<\/p>\n
Slack said Wednesday Astra was proposing to sell a 46 percent
\nstake in PT Toyota Astra Motor, retaining just five percent.<\/p>\n
Astra said the divestment will help it raise cash for debt
\nrepayment and is also part of its strategic shift in focus to
\ndistribution.<\/p>\n
Slack said the non-binding agreement would help speed up the
\nnegotiations.<\/p>\n
\"It is an indication that we are seriously discussing the
\nterms of the sale and we hope we can conclude it by the third
\nquarter,\" he told financial newswire AFX-Asia.<\/p>\n
Slack declined to comment on the pricing, saying it needs
\nfurther negotiation.<\/p>\n
The Financial Times said this week the stake is expected to be
\nsold for up to US$200 million. It said Astra would retain a
\nmajority share in the joint venture's distribution business.<\/p>\n
The paper quoted a source close to the deal as saying Toyota
\nplans to use the two joint venture factories as a regional
\nmanufacturing base while moving output of sedans to Thailand.<\/p>\n
It would use the Indonesian factories to build a new model to
\nreplace the Kijang, the high-wheelbase utility vehicle that is
\nIndonesia's most popular car.<\/p>\n
A debt restructuring agreement approved by creditors in
\nDecember requires Astra to use 75 percent of the after-tax value
\nof any asset sales to pay off debt. Astra now has outstanding
\ndebts of $780 million dollars.<\/p>",
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