Australian stock market to list Antam shares

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)