Excelcomindo enlarges bond issue to $350m
Excelcomindo enlarges bond issue to $350m
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The country's third largest cellular company, PT Excelcomindo
Pratama, said it has enlarged its dollar-denominated bond issue
to US$350 million from an initially planned $250 million, after
drawing around $1.4 billion in bids.
According to a company press release, the size of the issue
had been increased due to strong demand in Asia, the United
States and Europe.
The five-year bonds, to be listed on the Singapore Stock
Exchange, have an annual coupon rate of 8 percent, with a yield
of 8.125 percent and are callable after three years.
The company said that some of the proceeds from the bonds
would be used to refinance the company's dollar-denominated debt,
amounting to around $293 million, with bank syndicates.
The remainder would be used to help finance the expansion of
the company's cellular coverage to allow it to catch up with its
rivals -- the country's largest service provider PT
Telekomunikasi Seluler Indonesia (Telkomsel) and PT Satelit
Palapa Indonesia (Satelindo).
The company has hired Credit Suisse First Boston, Morgan
Stanley and UBS Investment Bank to underwrite the bond issue.
Rating agency Standard & Poors has rated the bonds B+, while
Moody's has given them a BB.
The Excelcomindo bond issue is the first international bond
issue to come out of Indonesia this year. The relatively strong
demand should bode well for the government's plan to issue
sovereign bonds in the first quarter of this year.
The unlisted Excelcomindo, which offers cellular products
under the Pro-XL brand name, is controlled by PT Telekomindo
Primabhakti, which owns 60 percent of the company's shares.
Other shareholders are Nynex Indocel Holding Sdn., with 23.1
percent, Asia Infrastructure Fund Ltd. (12.7 percent) and Japan's
Mitsui & Co. Ltd. (4.2 percent).
There has been a speculation recently that the company would
sell a majority chunk of its shares to regional players in the
future in a bid to help boost its performance. Giant
telecommunications companies from Malaysia and China are said to
be bidding for the stakes.
Currently, Excelcomindo controls about 16 percent of the
domestic cellular market, while Telkomsel and Satelindo
(including its sister operator IM3) hold 52 percent and 31
percent respectively.
The company has forecast that sales revenue this year would
reach around Rp 2.6 trillion (US$313 million).
Excelcomindo previously issued rupiah-denominated bonds worth
Rp 1.25 trillion in September, the proceeds from which were also
used to refinance some of the company's debt.