Arwana plans public offering

JAKARTA (JP): Ceramics manufacturer PT Arwana Citramulia plans to sell about 182 million shares to the public next month to raise funds for its subsidiary.

The company announced here on Tuesday that about 70 percent of the proceeds from its initial public offering (IPO) would be used to increase equity in its subsidiary PT Sinar Karya Abadi in Gresik, East Java.

The company did not unveil how much the shares, each with a nominal value of Rp 100, would be sold for during the IPO.

About 15 percent of the money raised by the IPO will be used to purchase new machinery for its factory, while the remaining 15 percent will be used to boost working capital, the company said in a statement.

The company, which began commercial operations in 1995, booked a 20 percent increase in net sales to Rp 92 billion last year from Rp 76 billion the previous year.

The company's net profit rose to Rp 4.25 billion in 2000 compared to a net loss of Rp 982 million the previous year.(03)