Australian stock market to list Antam shares

JAKARTA (JP): PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) will become the first Indonesian company to be listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) when the company floats its shares on the bourse next Monday.

Antam president Dedi Aditya Sumanegara said on Monday the cross listing on the ASX was expected to increase the company's profile and exposure on the Australian exchange, host to many major mining companies.

"The ASX has one of the strongest natural resource and mining sectors," Dedi said adding that the company was also ready to comply with a higher level of transparency and disclosure imposed by the exchange.

With Antam's listing on the ASX, Dedi said he hoped it would catch the attention of global mining investors.

The secondary listing was approved by Antam's shareholders at their annual general meeting in June last year.

"With a dual listing, shareholders obtain benefits such as an increased share liquidity and an opportunity for arbitrage," he said at Monday's news briefing to unveil the company's Aug. 9 dual listing.

Dedi said owners of Antam's shares, beginning Aug. 9, could sell their shares through ASX.

Antam listed its shares on the Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges in November 1997, with the investing public holding 35 percent of the company's shares. The remaining 65 percent of the company's stake is still held by the government.

He said the company's shares would be sold in the form of a CUFS, a unit of foreign securities in which every five Antam shares would be converted into one unit.

In a related issues, Antam operations director Harsoyo said the company did not expect gold prices, currently at a 20-year low, to pick up this year.

He said, however, Antam planned to increase its gold output next year due to the commissioning of a joint venture between Aneka Tambang and Newcrest Mining Ltd. on Maluku island.

Antam said gold sales for the first half of the year fell to 949 kilograms, from 1,041 kilograms during the same period last year, while output rose to 959 kilograms, from 909 kilograms during the same period last year.

Ferronickel sales in the first half of the year fell to 3,583 metric tons, from 3,917 tons the same period last year, while ferronickel output fell to 3,649 tons in the first half of the year, from 4,749 tons in the same period last year.

The company said the average price for nickel in the first half was US$2.75 per pound, while its average gold price was $276.06 per troy ounce.

Harsoyo said gold made up 27 percent of its sales in the first half, ferronickel and nickel ore 38 percent, iron fend 2 percent with remaining sales generated from bauxite.

He said the company sold 47 percent of its nickel ore output to Australia and 43 percent to Japan. For ferronickel, 49 percent of overall sales were to Europe, 28 percent to South Korea, 19 percent to Taiwan and the remainder to Japan. (udi)