Astra, Telkom and Indosat win award
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Asia's top financial magazine, FinanceAsia, has declared Indonesia's largest automotive and telecommunications firms are the best companies in the country.
Based on a poll conducted among 200 fund managers and equity analysts in the region in February and March, the magazine awarded Astra International, Indosat and Telkom as Indonesia's best companies for this year.
The announcement of the nation's best firms, among Asia's best companies, was published in the magazine's April edition.
FinanceAsia named Astra International as the Best Managed Company based on respondents' comments, which said the company had a clear vision and focused on delivering a solid return to its shareholders.
"Another deciding factor for investors was the fact that Astra also repaid over US$110 million in restructured debt ahead of its 2006 maturity," the publication wrote.
Astra president director Michael D. Ruslim received the award on Tuesday. Astra was second in the category last year, after Unilever Indonesia.
Astra is the leading car dealer in the rapidly growing auto market in the country, dominating the market with 47 percent of the 295,743 car sales in the first semester.
Indosat, the country's second largest telecommunications firm, was named as an entity with the Best Corporate Governance and Best Investor Relations.
The publication said that the company's rapid response time for investor-related queries was a clear justification for both awards.
Indosat president director Hasnul Suhaimi said the company's conformity to Indonesian laws and stock exchange regulations as well as its transparency in all decision making were reasons why the magazine chose it.
The company is listed on the New York, Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges.
"As for being the best in investor relations, any time investors want to come, we will welcome them. Any of the directors can provide them with the required information," he told The Jakarta Post.
The company, with its majority stocks owned by Singapore Technologies Telemedia (STT), recorded a growth of more than 30 percent in the number of its cellular subscribers, from 9.7 million as of last year to 12.8 million as of June.
Telkom, the country's biggest telecom company, which controlled 90 percent of last year's revenue on the cellular market, was named as the corporation with the Best Commitment to Dividend Payments.
Asia's Best Companies 2005 poll also chose Bank NISP as Best Small Cap Company; John Slack of Astra International as Best Corporate Financial Officer (CFO) and Jonathan Zax of Bank Mandiri as Best Investor Relations Representative.
Editorial director of FinanceAsia Nick Lord said the chosen companies were good models for other Indonesian corporations, showing their utmost commitment to excellent corporate governance and investor relations.
"The Indonesian companies that won the awards are truly world class companies that deliver strong results to their shareholders," he said in a press release made available to The Jakarta Post.
The magazine was established in 1996 and has representative offices in Singapore, Australia and the Philippines.(006)