Biddings for Telkomsel's shares is getting heated<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The competition between overseas
\ntelecommunications operators to win the bid for a portion of the
\nstate-owned digital cellular telecommunications operator, PT
\nTelkomsel, is becoming heated as the company is expected to
\nannounce its suitor soon.<\/p>\n
A top executive of the Dutch PTT Telecom in Indonesia, J.B.
\nVolbeda, told reporters here on Wednesday that Telkomsel, which
\nruns the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) cellular
\ntelephone, is likely to announce the winner within the next
\ncouple of months.<\/p>\n
"I think the company has already received all the bidders'
\nspecifications. Two or three months will be appropriate to make a
\ndecision," he said.<\/p>\n
His company, Volbeda said, has proposed to buy 25 percent of
\nTelkomsel's shares.<\/p>\n
"We actually would like to bid for more but Telkomsel offers
\nonly a maximum of 25 percent to foreign shareholders," he added.<\/p>\n
Telkomsel is 51 percent controlled by the state-owned domestic
\ntelecommunications operator PT Telkom, while the rest is owned by
\ninternational calls operator PT Indosat, which is partially
\nlisted on both the Jakarta and New York stock markets. Telkom is
\nexpected to float its shares on domestic and foreign bourses
\nlater this year.<\/p>\n
Telkomsel, officially established in May, was capitalized at
\nRp 650 billion (US$287 million). After performing a successful
\nGSM pilot project in Batam and Bintan islands, it plans to enter
\nthe key Jakarta market early next year.<\/p>\n
The company expanded its business recently into North and West
\nSumatra. On Tuesday, Telkomsel also launched its expansion in
\nBali and West Nusa Tenggara as well as introducing KartuHALO, the
\nsubscriber identity module (SIM) card which must be used in GSM
\nhandsets.<\/p>\n
At least eight foreign telecommunications operators have been
\nbidding for Telkomsel's shares. Among them are PTT Telecom,
\nTelstra of Australia, France Telecom, NTT of Japan, AT&T of the
\nUnited States, British Telecom, Voda Phone of Britain, Nynex of
\nthe United States. Leading investment firm Goldman Sachs of the
\nUnited States is assisting Telkomsel in evaluating the bids.<\/p>\n
However, Mitsui of Japan, Nynex of the U.S. and Telekomindo
\nPrimabhakti of Indonesia have been appointed as the country's
\nthird GSM operator.<\/p>\n
The new company, called PT Excelcomindo Pratama, will be 60
\npercent owned by Telekomindo and its local partners, 30 percent
\nby Nynex and 10 percent by Mitsui.<\/p>\n
PT Satelindo, another GSM operator in the country, picked last
\nMarch DeTeMobil, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, as its partner
\nwith a 25-percent shareholding worth of $586 million after a
\nfierce bidding battle with Cable & Wireless of Hong Kong.
\nSatelindo's other shareholders now consist of Telkom with 22.5
\npercent, Indosat with 7.5 percent and PT Bima Graha with 45
\npercent. Bima Graha is partly owned by the Bimantara group of
\nPresident Soeharto's son Bambang Trihatmodjo.<\/p>\n
Volbeda said that his company started last year to develop a
\nGSM project in the Netherlands where there are some 100,000
\nsubscribers currently listed.<\/p>\n
A source at Telkomsel told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that
\nmore than 10 firms have actually expressed interests in joining
\nTelkomsel, but the company is looking for only one foreign
\npartner and a decision must be made this year. (icn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/biddings-for-telkomsels-shares-is-getting-heated-1447893297",
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