New investor CCL plans no shake-up in Astra International<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The new investor in PT Astra International has
\nno immediate plans for a management shake-up of the country's
\nlargest automotive company but has prioritized debt payment,
\nAstra's president Theodore Permadi Rachmat said on Friday.<\/p>\n
"They said they had no intention to change the management.
\nThey only asked us to work hard and pay our debts," Rachmat said
\nof the results of his recent meeting with Philip Eng, the
\nmanaging director of Singapore's Cycle & Carriage Ltd. (CCL), the
\npublicly listed firm's new majority shareholder.<\/p>\n
CCL, an automotive distributor, led the investor consortium in
\nbuying 39.5 percent of Astra from the Indonesian Bank
\nRestructuring Agency (IBRA) in bidding last week.<\/p>\n
The winning consortium bought all of IBRA's 1.02 billion Astra
\nshares at Rp 3,700 per share, providing the agency with some
\nUS$506 million in cash, based on the Rp 7,460 rate used for the
\ndeal.<\/p>\n
The consortium includes Batavia Investment Management Ltd.,
\nLazard Asia Fund, a unit of Lazard Freres, PT Bhakti Investama
\nand the Government of Singapore Investment Corp.<\/p>\n
CCL is the largest investor with an estimated 23 percent stake
\nin Astra.<\/p>\n
Rachmat said CCL also did not plan to implement corporate
\nrestructuring of Astra.<\/p>\n
"They want us to maintain all the businesses we have now. They
\nhave no grand design for us. What they want is profitability."<\/p>\n
Rachmat said the new investors wanted to place six people on
\nthe board of commissioners, three of whom would replace
\ncommissioners appointed by IBRA, namely Mardi Sutanto, R.
\nSumantri and Mahmudin Jasin. AR Ramli will remain the president
\ncommissioner.<\/p>\n
He said the appointment of the new commissioners would be part
\nof the agenda in the company's next shareholders meeting
\nscheduled for the end of May.<\/p>\n
The additional three commissioners would bring to 12 the
\nnumber of members of the board.<\/p>\n
Rachmat said the acquisition of Astra by the new investors
\nwould bring financial stability to Astra and the company could
\nalso benefit from the network of new investors to expand its
\nbusiness.<\/p>\n
Rachmat said he was optimistic that Astra would be able to pay
\nits debts due this year, predicting the company would exceed last
\nyear's net profit of Rp 808 billion ($107 million) this year
\ngiven the increasing positive trend in automotive sales.<\/p>\n
Rachmat said Astra's total debt was $500 million.<\/p>\n
"Our Rp 800 billion net profits for the last year included
\nearnings from the sale of assets and foreign exchange earnings.
\nThis year, we shall get higher profits without selling any
\nassets."<\/p>\n
Astra projected domestic car sales at 240,000 this year, a 150
\npercent increase from 94,023 last year, Rachmat said. He added
\nthat Astra products would account for between 50 percent and 55
\npercent of the sales.<\/p>\n
The company also projected domestic motorbike sales would
\nreach 700,000 this year, up 43 percent from 487,759 last year<\/p>\n
"The rise in car and motorbike sales indicate early signs of
\nthe country's economic recovery," Rachmat said.<\/p>\n
Astra is also active in agribusiness, banking and information
\ntechnology.<\/p>\n
IBRA sold its stake in the firm in order to meet its revenue
\ntarget of Rp 17 trillion by March to aid the state budget.<\/p>\n
CCL consortium outbid a U.S. consortium led by Newbridge
\nCapital which included Chase Asia Equity Partners, PT Nusantara
\nInvestment Fund and PT Saratoga Investama Sedaya, a company
\npartly owned by Edward Soeryadjaja, the son of Astra's founding
\nWilliam Soryadjaja. (jsk)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/new-investor-ccl-plans-no-shake-up-in-astra-international-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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