Bintuni Minaraya expands

Bintuni Minaraya expands

JAKARTA (JP): PT Bintuni Minaraya, the largest integrated
fisheries company in Eastern Indonesia, will become the first
company to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the
domestic stock exchanges since last June.

Benny Sudrata, a director of PT Dinamika Usaha Jaya, which is
underwriting the issue, said on Tuesday that Bintuni, which
operates 675 fishing boats in the South China, Arafura and Maluku
seas and the Pacific Ocean, will offer 50 million shares at a
price of Rp 1,325 (15 U.S. cents) a share between March 29 and
April 1.

Sudrata expressed optimism about the offer despite the
depressed market condition.

He said because Bintuni exports 99 percent of its products to
Asia, Europe and the United States, the company is not affected
by Indonesia's economic depression.

He added Bintuni, the parent company of publicly listed PT
Daya Guna Samudera, booked an operating profit of Rp 1.36
trillion in the first nine months of 1998. The profit was almost
three times more than the Rp 493.8 billion earned for the whole
of 1997 and an astonishing increase from Rp 231.2 billion 1996
profit.

"The international market for Bintuni's products such as
frozen fish and shrimp, canned tuna, tuna loin and fish fillets
and skipjack is virtually insatiable," Sudrata said.

He added that fresh funds from the IPO would be invested to
expand its fishing operations and tuna and shrimp processing
plants in Eastern Indonesia.