UIC buys S'pore firm to enter Australia<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's sole producer of alkylbenzene PT
\nUnggul Indah Corporation (UIC) gained control of 50 percent of
\nAustralia's phosphate and surfactants producer Albright and
\nWilson Limited (AWA) by buying Singapore's Salim Olechemicals Pte
\nLtd (SOC), the company said yesterday.<\/p>\n
UIC's president director Hartono Gunawan said UIC had agreed
\nto buy 100 percent of SOC's shares for $20 million from Worldwide
\nLink Ltd, owned by Soedono Salim and Anthony Salim.<\/p>\n
SOC owned 50 percent of AWA, which has a large market in the
\nAsia-Pacific region, he said.<\/p>\n
\"By buying SOC's shares, UIC expects to be able to take over
\nAWA's technology as well as penetrate AWA's phosphate and
\nsurfactants market in the Asia-Pacific region,\" he said, adding
\nthat the company's shareholders meeting agreed yesterday to buy
\nSOC.<\/p>\n
Hartono said UIC also hoped to sell some its alkylbenzene to
\nAWA which still imported most of its raw materials, including
\nlinear alkylbenzene, lauryl alcohol and phosphors.<\/p>\n
AWA operates a phosphate production facility in Yarraville,
\nnear Melbourne, and surfactants production facilities at
\nWetherill Park near Sydney.<\/p>\n
Hartono said the company increased its net profit 26 percent
\nto Rp 41.3 billion (US$17.2 million) last year and its sales 15.8
\npercent to Rp 368.1 billion.<\/p>\n
Petrocental<\/p>\n
UIC's subsidiary PT Petrocental, the country's sole producer
\nof sodium tryoply phosphate, increased its net profit 96.1
\npercent to Rp 1.8 billion in 1996.<\/p>\n
The company's subsidiary in Vietnam, which produces dodecyl
\nbenzene sulfonic acid, linear alkylbenzene sulfonic acid and
\nsodium lauryl sulfate increased its net sales 102.6 percent to
\n$8.5 million a year.<\/p>\n
The UIC shareholders meeting agreed to distribute 35 percent
\nof the company's net profit in 1996, or Rp 100 per share, as
\ndividends.<\/p>\n
\"We project an increased net profit of between 5 percent and 8
\npercent due to an increase in alkylbenzene's price,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Alkylbenzene is the raw material for making detergent.<\/p>\n
Hartono said he hoped the third unit of UIC's production
\nfacilities in Serang, West Java, now under construction, would
\nstart commercial production early next year, increasing the
\ncompany's production capacity from 150,000 tons to 210,000 tons a
\nyear.<\/p>\n
With the annual domestic demand for alkylbenzene remaining
\n160,000 tons a year, the increase in UIC's capacity would create
\nan oversupply, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We are now searching for a new market in Europe, Japan and
\nSingapore,\" Hartono said.<\/p>\n
UIC also began this year to convert paraffin to olefin with a
\nproduction capacity of 120.000 tons a year.<\/p>\n
Olefin is a raw material to produce linear alkylbenzene.<\/p>\n
Hartono said the company's subsidiary PT Unggul Indah
\nInvestama in a joint venture with Singapore's property firm First
\nCapital Corporation would start building six towers at the
\ncompany's property on Jl. Gatot Subroto.<\/p>\n
The joint venture will invest $250 million on the six towers.
\n(jsk)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/uic-buys-spore-firm-to-enter-australia-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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