PT Telkom hot item on privatization list<\/p>\n
FRANKFURT (Reuters): Indonesia said on Friday it will talk to
\nDeutsche Telekom about taking a stake in telecoms group Indosat,
\nand that France Telecom has shown interest in domestic telecoms
\nfirm PT Telkom Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Promoting Indonesia's ongoing privatization drive, State
\nMinister for Empowerment of State Enterprises Tanri Abeng told a
\nnews conference that the country's debt-ridden banking sector
\nwould also be restructured and recapitalized by the end of the
\nyear.<\/p>\n
He also said the government would announce the winner of the
\nbid for a stake in state airport operator AngKasa Pura II in the
\nthird week of July and the new tender will open on July 19.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is privatizing state assets as part of economic
\nreforms demanded by the IMF and World Bank to restructure its
\neconomy following its financial crisis last year which
\nreverberated throughout the emerging market world.<\/p>\n
The southeast Asian country, still awaiting the final results
\nof its first democratic poll in 40 years held on June 7, hopes to
\nearn $1.5 billion from selling state assets to fund the 1999\/2000
\ngovernment budget.<\/p>\n
Tanri, traveling Europe and the United States as part of a
\ninvestor roadshow under the guidance of Goldman Sachs, said that
\nall political parties had agreed to stick to current economic
\npolicy regardless of the composition of the new government.<\/p>\n
He said that his delegation had already spoken to 12 strategic
\npartners and that more than half of them were interested in
\ninvesting.<\/p>\n
Asked by Reuters if Deutsche Telekom was one of the potential
\npartners already addressed, Tanri said: \"We will be talking to
\nthem as well.\"<\/p>\n
Telekom already owns a stake in Indonesia's biggest cellular
\ntelephone company, Satelindo, and has said it is interested in
\ngaining a majority stake in the firm.<\/p>\n
Tanri said that while France Telecom had not given a firm sign
\nabout Indonesian investment targets it had \"indicated interest in
\nTelkom and was open-minded about Indosat\".<\/p>\n
Possibly the most complex task facing the Indonesian
\ngovernment is overhauling its debt-laden banking system.<\/p>\n
\"The state-owned banks will all be restructured before the end
\nof the year. It is very likely that the restructuring and
\nrecapitalization of Indonesian banks will be completed before the
\nend of the year,\" Tanri said.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency is the government
\nbody responsible for the restructuring and it has taken over the
\nassets of dozens of insolvent banks closed down by the government
\nin a bid to sort out the mess.<\/p>\n
Tanri said the decline in Indosat's share price did not
\nnecessarily pose an obstacle in its privatization. Indosat shares
\nwere around Rp 18,000 in early June and have fallen to about Rp
\n13,500.<\/p>\n
\"We want to invite strategic partners to bid and if they are
\nin for the long-term then they may be prepared to pay a little
\nbit of a premium to the market,\" Tanri said.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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