Six foreign companies bid for stake in Pelindo's unit<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Six giant foreign shipping and port operators
\nhave submitted offers to buy a 49 percent to 51 percent stake in
\nthe newly established PT Jakarta International Container Terminal
\n(JICT), a unit of state-owned port operator PT Pelindo II.<\/p>\n
Sofyan Djalil, an assistant to the State Minister for the
\nEmpowerment of State Enterprises, said on Thursday that the six
\nqualifying bidders are Denmark's A.P. Moller Group which operates
\nMaersk Lines, Grosbeak PTE Ltd which is a unit of Hongkong's
\nconglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, Australia's P&O Ports,
\nStevedoring Services of America which has a business cooperation
\nwith local shipping company PT Samudera Indonesia, Taiwan's Peony
\nInvestment S.A., a unit of the Evergreen Group, and the
\nPhilippines' International Container Terminal Services Inc.<\/p>\n
Herwidayatmo, deputy minister for privatization and corporate
\nrestructuring, said that the bidders would undertake a due
\ndiligence early next month, and are expected to offer their final
\nbids on January 15, 1999.<\/p>\n
\"The government privatization committee and the financial
\nadvisers will then make a final evaluation,\" he said at a press
\nconference, adding that the whole bidding process was expected to
\nbe completed by the second week of February.<\/p>\n
Herwidayatmo said that the government had yet to decide the
\nproportion of shares to be privatized in JICT, but said that it
\nwould be in the range of 49 percent to 51 percent.<\/p>\n
\"If the government sold a majority stake it would still retain
\na golden share,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Pelindo II president Herman Prayitno said that JICT operates
\ntwo container terminals with a total capacity of 1.5 million TEUs
\nin the country's busiest port, Tanjung Priok in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He said that the two terminals contributed some 50 percent to
\nPelindo's 1997 total profit.<\/p>\n
Pelindo initially planned to expand the terminal's capacity to
\n2.1 million TEUs, but with the entry of foreign strategic
\ninvestors the capacity could be boosted to some 2.7 million TEUs,
\nhe added.<\/p>\n
He expected that the winning bidder would be a strategic
\ninvestor which could boost JICT's productivity and profit,
\nprovide the best service to customers, and expand capacity.<\/p>\n
Asked whether there would be a change in tariff with the entry
\nof the foreign investors, he said: \"Don't worry, there will be no
\nchange in tariff. We'll stick to the current tariff based on Law
\nNo. 21\/1995.\"<\/p>\n
He admitted, however, that the decision governing tariffs lies
\nin the hands of the regulator.<\/p>\n
Herman also said that the sale of JICT would not have a
\ndetrimental impact on Pelindo's profitability since the company
\nstill has 11 other large ports including the one in Padang, West
\nSumatra, which is expected to be busy with the rising export
\nactivities of cement maker PT Semen Padang.<\/p>\n
Pelindo is part of the five state-owned companies to be
\nprivatized by the government in the remaining period of the
\ncurrent fiscal year ending in March 1999.<\/p>\n
The government had earlier privatized cement maker PT Semen
\nGresik.<\/p>\n
The government initially planned to privatize 12 state-owned
\ncompanies in the fiscal year to raise some US$1.5 billion, but
\nscaled that down to only six companies citing a bearish market
\ncondition. (rei)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/six-foreign-companies-bid-for-stake-in-pelindos-unit-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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