Cahaya Kalbar to offer 34m shares to public

Cahaya Kalbar to offer 34m shares to public

JAKARTA (JP): PT Cahaya Kalbar, a producer of speciality fats, plans to sell 34 million new shares to the public next month to raise funds for its expansion program.

Managing director Hardy Sunarcia said yesterday that the new shares, each with a nominal value of Rp 500 (22 U.S. cents), would account for about 28 percent of Cahaya Kalbar's enlarged common shares.

He said that the new shares, which will be listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX), will be offered to the public for between Rp 1,000 and Rp 1,200 per share.

The company expects to raise some Rp 34 billion in fresh funds ($15.45 million) from the public offering, of which 40 percent will be used to finance expansion projects, including the diversification of its speciality fat products, he said.

"Other 35 percent of the proceeds will be used to repay some of the company's loans and the remaining 25 percent for capital restructuring," he said.

The speciality fats produced by the company are derivative products of palm oil and are used as a substitute for cocoa fats in the production of chocolate. The speciality fats are also called non-cocoa fats.

Cahaya Kalbar, which is presently 82.35 percent owned by PT Cahaya Kalbar Perkasa and 17.65 percent by PT Tulada Pertiwi, is also engaged in cocoa grinding.

Hardy said that around 70 percent of its non-cocoa fat products and cocoa powder are exported to the United States, Russia and Australia, as well as European and Asian countries.

"We are very optimistic about the prospects of exporting, especially with exports to Europe," he said. "The European Commission's decision early last month to continue allowing member states to use up to 5 percent non-cocoa fat in chocolate is good news for us."

The company's offering, underwritten by PT Aspac Uppindo Securities, will be this year's first public offering on the domestic market.

Inarno Djayadi, Aspac's president, said that the company had submitted all the public offering requirements to the Capital Market Supervisory Agency.

"We hope to launch the public offering next month," he said. (hen)