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

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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

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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