Bimantara Citra to build power plant
JAKARTA (JP): The widely diversified Bimantara Citra group, through its infrastructure division, signed an agreement yesterday to build a power plant in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.
An executive from the infrastructure division, Joseph Dharmabrata, told The Jakarta Post that Bimantara would team up with U.S. oil company VICO and Indonesia's PT Industrial Machinery Equipment Company (IMECO) to set up the power plant.
He said that construction of the plant would begin in 1998.
Bimantara Citra would hold 60 percent of the shares in the venture and its two partners would hold 20 percent each.
Bimantara is also preparing an initial public offering (IPO) for its RCTI television station.
M.S. Ralie Siregar said the first private television station would launch its IPO either this year or next year.
"RCTI plans to go public and is waiting for an approval from the President," he said. He did not say why the approval should come from President Soeharto.
The television station initially planned to float its shares two years ago but the plan was canceled because foreign investors were not allowed to buy stocks of media and publishing companies.
He said RCTI had an advertising revenue of Rp 300 billion in 1996 and expected Rp 360 billion in revenue in 1997. "Our market share is around 36 percent of the total advertising cake," he said.
He said that most of the advertising revenue came from pharmaceuticals, food, automotives, chemical products and durables. "The main contributor to our advertising revenue is pharmaceutical products," he said.
Jongkie D. Sugiarto, the president of Bimantara Citra Mobil Nasional, a Bimantara automotive subsidiary, said his firm sold 1,100 Bimantara Cakra cars and 1000 Bimantara Nenggala cars last year.
He said his company projected to sell at least 5,000 of each model in 1997.
He told The Post that Bimantara Citra had signed a deal with its Korean counterpart, Hyundai, to set up PT Bimantara Hyundai Indonesia on a 400-hectare site in Purwakarta, West Java, to produce cars. Around US$400 million is expected to be invested in the plant. "The plant is expected to operate by the end of 1998," he said.
He said his company was negotiating with 10 component vendors from Korea and Taiwan to invest in the Purwakarta plant. "Hopefully we can finalize negotiations later this year," he said.
Meanwhile, Bimantara Citra finance director, A. Kadir Assegaf, said his firm had made a net profit of Rp 95.9 billion ($41.34 million) between January and September 1996, up from 1995's net profit of Rp 81 billion.
He said that 34 percent of the profit came from its media and broadcasting division, 23 percent from its transportation and automotive division, 14 percent from telecommunications, 8 percent from chemical industries and 21 percent from other industries.
The company, he said, expected to book a net profit of Rp 155 billion and total revenue of Rp 890 billion for 1996. (09)