Government to sell Indosat stake next month<\/p>\n
Dadan Wijaksana and A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Moving ahead with its privatization program, the government plans
\nto start selling a 30 percent stake early next month in state-
\nowned telecommunications company PT Indosat through a strategic
\nsale in a process it expects to finalize by December.<\/p>\n
\"We plan to sell the Indosat stake through a strategic sale,\"
\nState Minister for State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi told
\nreporters on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The government currently holds a 56.9 percent stake in the
\npublicly-listed Indosat. There are a total of 1.04 billion
\nIndosat shares.<\/p>\n
The plan should reaffirm the government's commitment towards
\nthe privatization program, which is aimed at raising a total of
\nRp 6.5 trillion (US$718 million) this year to help finance the
\n2002 state budget deficit.<\/p>\n
So far, the government has only managed to raise around Rp
\n2.26 trillion. The first half target was set at more than Rp 3
\ntrillion.<\/p>\n
Indosat is one of five state-owned enterprises in which stakes
\nare to be sold in the second semester of this year to meet the
\nprivatization target.<\/p>\n
An earlier attempt to sell an 11.32 percent stake in Indosat
\nturned out to be a disappointment as the government only managed
\nto sell 8.1 percent of the company at a lower-than-expected price
\ndue to a weak response from investors. The amount raised by this
\nsale was $110 million.<\/p>\n
The disappointing result prompted Laksamana to publicly accuse
\nsome parties of being involved in insider trading, saying that
\nthis had jeopardized the sale of Indosat.<\/p>\n
The Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam) is currently
\ninvestigating the case.<\/p>\n
But some have said that the government was merely trying to
\nfind a scapegoat for the failed sale.<\/p>\n
Laksamana didn't disclose how much he expected to raise from
\nthe second sale, but it's obvious that the government is hoping
\nto obtain significant proceeds in order to meet the state budget
\ntarget.<\/p>\n
Progress in the privatization program could also prove crucial
\nin helping to revive investor confidence in the economy.<\/p>\n
Under the Indosat sale plan, the government will start sending
\nthe required documents to potential investors in the first week
\nof September, hoping to receive responses from investors a week
\nlater.<\/p>\n
Potential investors will then launch a due diligence process
\nin October and submit their business plans for Indosat to the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
The final bid stage is set for the first and second weeks of
\nNovember.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-to-sell-indosat-stake-next-month-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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