Excelcomindo repays foreign debt<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Cellular phone operator PT Excelcomindo Pratama announced Friday
\nit had repaid some US$70 million of its debts to foreign
\ncreditors, by using half of the proceeds raised from the recent
\nbond issue.<\/p>\n
The company said that with the payment, which was made on
\nMonday, its debts would be reduced to $299.4 million.<\/p>\n
Excelcomindo, the country's third largest cellular operator
\ncontrolling about 16 percent of the market share, in October
\nissued bonds worth Rp 1.25 trillion (about $148 million). In
\naddition to repaying foreign debt, the company used some of the
\nproceeds to finance the expansion of its telecom network and
\nsales distribution network.<\/p>\n
The company is 60 percent owned by PT Telekomindo Primabhakti
\n(a unit of the Rajawali business group), 23 percent owned by
\nVerizon Communications, 13 percent by Asian Infrastructure Fund
\nand 4 percent by Mitsui of Japan.<\/p>\n
There have been reports that Excelcomindo, which has around
\n2.7 million customers, has become an acquisition target of
\nforeign telecom firms, such as China Telecom and Telekom
\nMalaysia.<\/p>\n
The foreign firms are keen to use Excelcomindo as a vehicle to
\nbenefit from Indonesia's huge telecom market. Out of the
\ncountry's more than 220 million population, only around 20
\npercent to 30 percent have subscribed cellular services. This
\nyear, the number of cellular phone customers is estimated to
\nreach 16 million to 17 million, while next year it is predicted
\nto jump to 30 million.<\/p>\n
The largest player in the Industry is PT Telkomsel, which is
\nnow controlled by Singapore Telecommunications.<\/p>\n
Another Singapore company called ST Telemedia has also
\nacquired telecommunications firm PT Indosat.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/excelcomindo-repays-foreign-debt-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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