Tue, 11 Mar 1997

Diah family to sell all shares in Hotel Prapatan

JAKARTA (JP): The president of the publicly listed PT Hotel Prapatan, A.T. Nurman Diah, will resign and sell all his family's shares in the company.

Nurman will tender his resignation at the company's extraordinary shareholders meeting Thursday, ending the Diah family's control of the company they founded in 1969.

In statement made available to The Jakarta Post yesterday, he said he would recommend shareholders appoint Hashim Djojohadikusumo, the president of Semen Cibinong and several financial companies, as his replacement.

"The family has decided to relinquish its remaining interest in the company. I will be handing over a company that is good shape with a substantial cash balance, low debt and brand new properties with very strong name brands in their respective markets." Nurman said.

But Nurman did not say why he was resigning and selling his family's stake in the company which owns Hotel Aryaduta Jakarta, Hotel Aryaduta Pekanbaru and the Shima Restaurants in Jakarta.

He did not say how much of the company his family owned but according to the Indonesian Capital Market Directory 1996, the Diah family owns 15.5 percent of Hotel Prapatan.

The statement said the Diah family had already sold some of its shares to Sumitro Djojohadikusumo's family and its associates who now owned close to 40 percent of the company.

"The professor (Sumitro) and my parents go back a long way. It is only natural that we want to see that the company is in good hands. Being indigenous ourselves, we also wish that it remains so. With the Professor's family and associates in control of large blocks shares, this shall be so," Diah said.

Another major shareholder is James Riyadi of the Lippo Group who bought the shares from Endang Utari Mokodompit, the daughter of former state oil company PT Pertamina president Ibnu Sutowo.

Nurman said James should let Sumitro's son, Hashim, take control of Hotel Prapatan.

"James has a cupful of acquisitions and restructuring to do with within his group Lippo. I think he should consolidate them first," he said.

"Politically it is quite sensitive that a business founded by an indigenous business family be taken over by a conglomerate controlled by nonindiginous people. This a bad news," he said.

The company recorded a Rp 2.07 billion (US$870,000) profit in 1995 and expected better in 1996.

The statement said under Nurman Diah's leadership the company consistently posted profits. Over the last five years the company earned Rp 33.72 billion in profit. This was 68.14 percent of shareholder equity

The company said the meeting would approve the new members of board of commissioner and directors. (09)