Astratel seeks more foreign partners

Astratel seeks more foreign partners

JAKARTA (JP): PT Astratel Nusantara, a subsidiary of Astra
International, is negotiating with four foreign firms, including
the Japanese giant Marubeni, to support its telecommunication
business.

In cooperation with France Telecom and two domestic partners,
Astratel has set up a consortium called Pramindo Ikat Nusantara,
to carry out a telecommunication project in the country. The
consortium is one of the five awarded 15-year contracts by the
government to install a total of two million telephone lines in
Sumatra, West and Central Java, Kalimantan and east provinces.

Pramindo alone will install 516,000 telephone lines in Sumatra
beginning early next year. Pramindo will also operate about 1.2
million telephone lines under its contract, which will involve an
investment of US$575 million.

"We are now negotiating with the four foreign firms on
cooperation to strengthen Pramindo's technical and financial
position," Astratel's president, Thomas B. Subijanto, told
reporters Thursday.

He said the foreign companies are Marubeni Corp. and Nichimen
of Japan, the International Finance Corp., an affiliate of the
World Bank, and Commonwealth Development Corp. from Britain.

Marubeni and Nichimen plan to have shares in Pramindo, he
said.

Pramindo is 59.5 percent owned by Astratel, 35 percent by
France Cable et Radio, a subsidiary of France Telecom, 3.5
percent by PT Intertel Pratamamedia and 2 percent by the
cooperative of the employees of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and
Telecommunications.

Another Japanese firm, NTT, is already involved in Mitra
Global Telekomunikasi Indonesia, one of the other four consortia
awarded the telecommunication projects, which will install
440,000 telephone lines in Central Java.(icn)