Indra appointed new president of Indosat<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Shareholders of publicly listed international
\ntelecommunications operator PT Indosat approved in a closed door
\nmeeting held on Thursday the appointment of Indra Setiawan as new
\ncompany president.<\/p>\n
Shareholders also approved during the meeting the appointment
\nof Mochamad Hasjim Thojib as finance director to replace Herman
\nSimandjuntak, who was removed from his job in September following
\na scandal involving a government dividend worth Rp 112 billion.<\/p>\n
Indra said his priority was to rehabilitate Indosat's current
\ntarnished image resulting from the scandal by restructuring the
\ncompany's management and administration.<\/p>\n
\"From now on the management and administration of the company
\nwill be carried out in an open manner,\" he told a media
\nconference after the meeting.<\/p>\n
Indra is not an unfamiliar face at Indosat. He held a variety
\nof roles in the company from 1982 to 1996. Before leaving Indosat
\nto take up the post of president at state owned PT Hotel
\nIndonesia International, Indra's last position in the company was
\nas general manager for general affairs.<\/p>\n
Indra will replace former president Tjahjono Soeryodibroto,
\nwho resigned last month following the removal of Herman from his
\njob as finance director over irregularities in payment of a
\ngovernment dividend.<\/p>\n
Herman delayed the government dividend payment of Rp 112
\nbillion and temporarily transferred the funds to a bank account.
\nHe did not include the Rp 22.5 billion in interest gains from the
\nfunds when Indosat later transferred the funds to the government.<\/p>\n
Indra said the dividend had been fully paid to the government,
\nbut refused to comment further on the scandal.<\/p>\n
Indra and Thojib were nominated by the office of the State
\nMinister of the Empowerment of State Enterprises to fill the
\nvacant positions, said an Indosat executive.<\/p>\n
There was no objection to the appointments, except from a
\ncustodian representing offshore foreign investors who hold stocks
\nin the company. With about a 65 percent ownership stake, the
\ngovernment still controls the company.<\/p>\n
\"But it did not have any affect at all because the remaining
\nshareholders supported the government's stance,\" the source
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Indra said his main priority would be to maintain and improve
\nthe company's core business in anticipation of the opening of the
\nmarket in the global and regional telecommunication sectors.<\/p>\n
He said Indosat should focus on the application and mastering
\nof world class information technology in order to boost the
\ncompany's competitiveness.<\/p>\n
Indosat's main business is providing the international direct
\ndial service a part of its switched and non-switched
\ntelecommunications services, using primarily the submarine cable
\nfacility but also satellite transponders.<\/p>\n
Indosat, which has at least 30 subsidiaries and affiliated
\ncompanies here and overseas, has an exclusive right to provide
\nthe international direct dial service in Indonesia until 2004.<\/p>\n
The company's operational director, Achmad Rivai, said
\nIndosat's future business plan would put first priority on the
\nfurther development of submarine cables, which has been its chief
\nsupport of all products and services.<\/p>\n
\"We're also going to enter the mobile telecommunications
\nsector. This sector is very important and a lucrative business
\ntoo,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Indosat currently has stakes in two local giant cellular
\nnetwork operators, PT Satelit Palapa Indonesia (Satelindo) and PT
\nTelekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel).<\/p>\n
The company is reportedly considering selling 6.5 percent of
\nits 7.5 percent stake in Satelindo in order to buy a stake in
\nlocal cellular network operator PT Excelcomindo Pratama.<\/p>\n
Indosat posted an unaudited consolidated net income of Rp
\n638.4 billion for the first half of 1999, a figure representing a
\n36.8 percent increase over the corresponding period in 1998.<\/p>\n
The company's shares are listed on the Jakarta and Surabaya
\nStock Exchanges, while its American Depository Shares are listed
\non the New York Stock Exchange. (cst)<\/p>",
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