Farm commodity producer to go public

Farm commodity producer to go public

JAKARTA (JP): PT Prasidha Aneka Niaga, an agriculture
commodity processor and exporter, will offer 30 million shares or
25 percent of its total common stocks to the public later next
month.

"The offering price will amount to less than 15 times the
company's price earning," said J.J. Figgins, the president of PT
Standard Chartered Indonesia, which will act as the lead
underwriter of the share issue.

Prasidha Niaga has seven subsidiary companies operating in the
processing and exporting of such agricultural commodities as
coffee, cocoa, black pepper, vanilla, crumb rubber and tapioca
chips.

The company is now 53.3 percent owned by PT Aneka Bumi
Prasidha and 46.7 percent by PT Aneka Agroprasidha. But after the
public offering, PT Aneka Bumi's share ownership will decrease to
40 percent and PT Aneka Agropprasidha's to 35 percent with the
remaining 25 percent will be owned by the investing public.

The company's president, Mansjur Tandiono, told a meeting with
securities analysts and brokers on Friday that 35 percent of the
funds to be raised by the share issue would be used to finance
the construction of a coffee processing plant, 30 percent for
funding the establishment of a feed mill and the other 35 percent
to repay debts and strengthen its working capital.

The shares, which will be offered at between Rp 3,500 to Rp
4,000 per share, will be listed on the Jakarta and Surabaya stock
exchanges.

The company registered total assets of Rp 187.88 billion
(US$86 million) as of last year, up from Rp 116.78 billion in
1992.

It posted Rp 2.7 billion in net profits in 1993, up from Rp
900 million in 1992 and Rp 870 million in 1991.(yns)