Bimantara not to issue rights shares immediately

Bimantara not to issue rights shares immediately

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly-listed conglomerate PT Bimantara Citra
said yesterday it will not issue rights shares this year or next
to finance the expansion of its subsidiaries.

"We will not conduct rights issues until after next year
because we have our own five-year plans, called Relitara, for the
1992-1997 period," the company's vice president, Rosano Barack,
said after the annual shareholders meeting here.

Rosano said the company's automotive and broadcasting
divisions plan expansions this year. He stressed that Bimantara
will use the proceeds from its initial public offering of shares
for the expansion programs.

The automotive division, Bimantara Cakra Nusa, teaming up with
the Hyundai Motor Company of South Korea, will expand its
manufacturing facilities in Cikampek, West Java, to produce
100,000 automotive units by 1999, with a total investment of
US$700 million.

The broadcasting division, RCTI, will construct nine new relay
stations this year to increase its total number across the
country to 39, besides building two more studios for dubbing
facilities. These total investments will amount to Rp 85 billion.

Bimantara announced yesterday that it had posted a net profit
of Rp 31 billion (US$13.75 million) for the first quarter of
1996, 9 percent higher than the company's target.

The company, however, did not disclose its net profit in the
first quarter of 1995.

Rosano noted that the company expected to see its 1996 net
profit increase by 31 percent over its 1995 net profit of Rp
117.8 billion.

He added that the company's shareholders had approved the
payment of final dividends of Rp 15 per share for 1995. They also
approved the company's donation of Rp 317.8 million to the Dana
Sejahtera Mandiri Foundation, which will use the money for the
government-sanctioned poverty alleviation program.

Bimantara, controlled by President Soeharto's son Bambang
Trihatmodjo, has seven core divisions with varying business,
interests ranging from media and broadcasting,
telecommunications, transportation and cars to hotels and
property.

Bimantara also has an indirect nine percent stake in PT
Satelindo, one of the only two international gateway providers in
the country. Satelindo is also the sole operator of the
Indonesian Palapa satellites.

The company said the holding firm, Bimantara Citra,
contributed 20.33 percent to last year's net profits, while its
media and broadcasting division's share was 33.5 percent, the
transportation and automotive division's was 17.68 percent, the
chemical industry division's was 11.01 percent and the
telecommunications division's contribution was 9.73 percent.
(rid)