Bimantara aims to raise Rp 750b via rights issue

Bimantara aims to raise Rp 750b via rights issue

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Publicly listed media and telecommunications conglomerate PT
Bimantara Citra plans to sell more of its shares on the stock
market via a rights issue, in order to fund the expansion of its
media and telecommunications businesses.

Bimantara president Harry Tanoesoedibjo said the company
planned to raise around Rp 750 billion (US$89 million) from the
issue, slated for next month.

"The funds will be used to finance the development of our
media and telecommunications businesses," said Harry on the
sidelines of a ceremony on Wednesday.

He said the company would hold a shareholders' meeting at the
end of March to seek approval for the plan.

The company has appointed Merrill Lynch, CLSA and Mandiri
Sekuritas as financial advisors for the issue.

Apart from having control in the country's first private
television station, PT Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia (RCTI),
Bimantara also owns shares in television station TPI, Metro TV
and Global TV, which runs MTV-franchised programs.

The company has recently teamed up with U.S.-based
telecommunications company Qualcomm Inc. and South Korea's KTF
Co. in establishing a CDMA-based cellular operator PT Mobile-8
Telecom, which provides cellular services under the brand name
Fren.

Harry expected the company's cellular subscribers to grow to
1.9 million in 2005 from around 800,000 currently.

He said the company's sources of revenue for this year would
primarily be contributed by RCTI, TPI and the newborn Mobile-8.

Elsewhere, Bimantara announced that it had signed an agreement
to shift its entire shareholding in RCTI to its subholding
subsidiary PT Media Nusantara Citra (MNC). MNC is 99.99 percent
owned by Bimantara.

Through MNC, Bimantara now owns 100 percent of the shares in
RCTI and 70 percent in Global TV. In the future, the company will
place all its TV stations under MNC to benefit from economies of
scale.

Bimantara was founded by Bambang Trihatmodjo, the second son
of former President Soeharto.

The company's shares ended down Rp 50 at Rp 3,600 on
Wednesday.