Asahimas plans to sell 86 million shares to public

JAKARTA (JP): PT Asahimas Flat Glass Co. Ltd., a flat glass and safety glass producer, will offer 86 million new shares or 20 percent of its enlarged capital to the public next month to raise Rp 200 billion (US$87.9 million).

Company president Margono Djojosumarto said in a statement that the shares will be listed on the Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges in early November.

Acting as the lead manager of the public offering is PT Indovest Securities.

Margono said Asahimas plans to use 74 percent of the funds to be raised from the public offering to finance the expansion of manufacturing facilities located in Jakarta and Surabaya, 21 percent to repay debts and 5 percent to increase working capital.

The company's expansion plan includes upgrading its flat glass production facilities, constructing an additional laminated and tempered glass production line and buying land on which to build a safety glass plant and a warehouse.

The company, which was established in 1971 and began commercial glass production in 1973, currently operates two furnaces in Jakarta and one in Surabaya, with a combined production capacity of 420,000 metric tons a year.

Its flat glass is used by the building industry while its safety glass is supplied to the automobile industry.

Asahimas has a 60 percent share in the local flat glass market and it is the largest supplier of safety glass to original equipment manufacturers in Indonesia.

Sales growth increased steadily from Rp 186 billion in 1992 to almost Rp 290 billion in 1994. Sales are expected to exceed Rp 400 billion this year, Margono said.

The company, which currently sells its products to customers in over 20 countries, expects robust demand for flat and safety glass in Indonesia due to the buoyant construction sector and strong growth in automobile production.

Margono added that Indonesia's per-capita glass consumption of 1.97 kilograms per annum is still low compared with other Asian countries.

Based on the company's 1994 estimates, China has a per-capita glass consumption of 4.03 kilograms per annum, Malaysia 5.79 kilograms and Japan 11.85 kilograms.

Asahimas is a joint venture between Indonesia's Rodamas Co. Ltd. and Asahi Glass of Japan, one of the world's largest glass manufacturers. Each has a 50 percent stake in the company, which will fall to 40 percent each after the public offering.

In conjunction with the public offering, the two parent companies will together contribute one percent of the founder shares to Indonesian cooperatives.(31)