Stocks climb for 8th day; Telkom gains on S&P rating<\/p>\n
Soraya Permatasari and Arijit Ghosh, Bloomberg\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesian stocks rose for an eighth day, the longest winning
\nstreak in almost 10 months. PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom)
\nclimbed to a record after the phone company had its debt ratings
\nraised by Standard & Poor's.<\/p>\n
The rating increase means \"Telkom can get cheaper rates if it
\nwants to borrow, so reducing its cost of funds,\" said Arfan
\nKarniody, who holds Telkom shares among the US$150 million he
\nhelps manage at PT Niaga Aset Management.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Composite Index added 7.02, or 0.6 percent, to
\n1182.03 at the 4 p.m. local time close, extending a seven-day,
\n7.2 percent gain. It's the longest period of gains since the nine
\ndays ended Feb. 23.<\/p>\n
Telkom climbed Rp 150, or 2.5 percent, to Rp 6,150, the
\nhighest since the company started trading on Nov. 14, 1995.<\/p>\n
The ratings of Telkom and its mobile-phone unit PT
\nTelekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel) were raised two levels to BB+,
\nS&P said in a release on Monday. Indonesia is rated B+. All are
\njunk ratings.<\/p>\n
\"Everything good is happening at Telkom,\" said Katarina
\nSetiawan, head of research at Kim Eng Securities in Jakarta. \"The
\ncompany plans to buy back shares, S&P has raised its ratings, we
\nhave a strong buy on the stock.\"<\/p>\n
Lenders rose after the International Monetary Fund said on
\nTuesday Indonesia's inflation will slow from a six-year high of
\n18 percent last month, easing concern the central bank will raise
\ninterest rates aggressively.<\/p>\n
Inflation is expected to slow to 8 percent by the end of next
\nyear, Stephen Schwartz, an IMF representative told reporters in
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
PT Bank Central Asia, the nation's No. 2 lender, gained Rp 50,
\nor 1.5 percent, to Rp 3,500. PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia, fourth
\nbiggest, added Rp 50, or 1.6 percent, to Rp 3,100. PT Bank
\nDanamon, the No. 5 bank, gained Rp 200, or 4.7 percent, to Rp
\n4,450.<\/p>\n
PT Astra International fell for the first day in three after
\nan industry report said vehicle sales dropped 26 percent in
\nNovember from a year earlier. Astra International fell Rp 300, or
\n2.8 percent, to Rp 10,300, ending a two-day, 6 percent gain.<\/p>\n
Local auto sales dropped to 26,121 units last month from
\n35,157 units a year ago, PT Toyota Astra Motor, which is majority
\nowned by Astra International, said in a statement, citing figures
\nfrom the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers
\n(Gaikindo).<\/p>\n
Car sales in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, are
\nforecast to drop by as much as 24 percent next year as high
\ninterest rates cut demand, Bambang Trisulo, chairman of Gaikindo,
\nsaid on Nov. 24. Sales may decline to 400,000 to 500,000 units
\nnext year from an estimated 525,000 units this year, he said.<\/p>",
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