Antam may issue $150m bond in 3Q
Antam may issue $150m bond in 3Q
JAKARTA: Indonesia's state-owned gold and nickel miner PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) may issue US$150 million in bonds in the third quarter to help finance a new ferronickel smelter project, an official with the company said over the weekend.
Company President Director Dedi Aditya Sumanegara told reporters that it's in the process of selecting underwriters for the proposed issue, which is expected to be listed overseas. The bond, however, is still awaiting approval from the company's board of commissioners.
He said several investment bankers, such as UBS Warburg, Credit Suisse First Boston, and Citicorp, are seeking to underwrite the issue.
Antam is exploring new ways to raise funds to finance the construction of its third ferronickel plant in South Sulawesi. The company is mulling whether to cancel its plan to borrow $255 million from a German export credit agency.
Antam can only tap such a loan if it hires German companies to develop the project. But the euro's recent rise against the dollar makes it unviable for Antam to use the loan as it would have to pay the German companies in euros.
Antam is 65 percent owned by the Indonesian government and is listed on both the Jakarta and Australian Stock Exchanges. --DJ
;AFP; ANPAf..r.. CorporateBrief-Lufthansa-job-cuts Lufthansa staffs fear deep job cuts JP/GERMANY
Lufthansa staffs fear deep job cuts
BERLIN: Lufthansa's employees' council is concerned that the airline is set to cut jobs drastically and wants to talk with management about the matter, the council's president Wolf Liebetrau said in a newspaper interview published on Monday.
"We're realistic and already have it in our heads that Lufthansa is to be downsized," Liebetrau told the Financial Times Deutschland.
"But structural changes must be discussed with us. It would be sensible to talk as soon as possible about changes that might occur over the next three to five years, so that we can look for socially acceptable solutions as soon as possible."
By contrast, a Lufthansa spokesman insisted there were currently no plans to change the group's dimension. The German flag carrier, Europe's third-biggest in terms of market share, booked a net loss of 356 million euros (US$420 million) in the first three months of the current year and expects to remain in the red at operating level for the whole year.
It has already implemented short-time working for employees, a hiring freeze and a reduction in investment but has so far said it wanted to avoid redundancies. -AFP
;AFP; ANPAf..r.. CorporateBrief-Pepsi-SChina Pepsi to expand in south China JP/GERMANY
Pepsi to expand in south China
BEIJING: PepsiCo Investment (China) Ltd. said on Monday it will spend US$30 million to set up a non-carbonated beverages production facility in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
It will be the soft drink giant's first non-carbonated production base in China and is expected to be the largest of its kind in Asia on completion.
The U.S.-based company said in a statement that it expected annual capacity to reach 10 million cases of eight-ounce cans and bottles.
It said the plant was expected to cover more than 140,000 square meters (1.5 million square feet) and have five production lines, producing juice and other non-carbonated beverages.
Molly Yang, public relations official with PepsiCo Investment, said that products made at the facility will be marketed in mainland China.
PepsiCo has so far set up 40 subsidiaries in China, with four in Guangdong province, of which Guangzhou is the capital.
No details were given on when the new facility would be completed. -AFP