Elektrindo ready to float shares in 1996: Kuntoro
Elektrindo ready to float shares in 1996: Kuntoro
JAKARTA (JP): The decreasing price of cellular handphones has
cut into the profits of PT Elektrindo Nusantara but has not
deterred the private telecommunications company from floating its
shares on the domestic stock exchange.
"The board of commissioners has told us to prepare the listing
of our company. Our core business in digital central switching,
the STK-1000, is very promising," Elektrindo's president, Harry
Kuntoro, said yesterday after attending a ceremony marking the
company's 12th anniversary.
He said that the company will be ready for an initial public
offering next year.
He said that his company, founded in 1983 as a subsidiary of
the Bimantara Group, started its business in engineering the
technical updates of earth station electronic products of the
American Hughes Aircraft Company.
"Currently, Elektrindo is concentrating on the STK-1000, a
small capacity digital telephone exchange of 1,000 lines," Harry
said. Its other business is the VSAT (very small aperture
terminal) system.
He said that his company will develop 16,200 STK-1000 lines
for the state-owned telecommunications company for use in rural
areas.
"Our company's total assets increased steadily from Rp 133.8
billion (US$60.21 million) in 1991 to Rp 177.2 billion in 1992
and to Rp 216 billion in 1993. Last year the assets reached Rp
234 billion ($105.31 million)," he said.
Elektrindo's finance director, Baringin Simanjuntak, said that
his company's profits decreased from Rp 31.5 billion ($14.17
million) in 1992 to Rp 22.5 billion ($10.12 million) in 1993 and
to Rp 17.2 billion.
"This year we expect a profit of Rp 11 billion ($4.95
million). The drop was caused by the government's decision to cut
the price of cellular telephones from about Rp 15 million in 1992
to only some Rp 4.5 million this year," Baringin said.
Elektrindo runs an advanced mobile cellular phone service in
Jakarta, Bandung in West Java, Medan in North Sumatra and
Ujungpandang in South Sulawesi. According to Harry, Elektrindo
gained 60 percent of its profit from the cellular business, 25
percent from telephone networks operated under a revenue sharing
program with Telkom and 15 percent from other businesses.
He said that the company now has five affiliated firms
including PT NEC Nusantara Communications, PT Alcatel Enkomindo,
PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, PT Komselindo and PT Nusantara
Submarine Cable Service.
Elektrindo has also established a consortium with Cable &
Wires of Britain and Kanimatsu of Japan to participate in the
tender for the two million telephone lines of PT Telekom.
Elektrindo is 51 percent owned by PT Bimantara Citra, a
holding company of the Bimantara Group controlled by President
Soeharto's son, Bambang Trihatmodjo. The other shareholders
include PT Karya Teka Panca Murni (25 percent), Azbindo Nusantara
(14 percent), Adipta Adidhana and Astagina Prakarsatama (five
percent each).
Bimantara Citra announced last month that it had planned to
float new shares on the Jakarta Stock Exchange in the middle of
this year.
In addition to Elektrindo, the holding company controls 25
other subsidiaries whose business interests include
transportation, property, automotive assembling and broadcasting.
(icn)