Garuda to go public in 1998 by selling 30% of its shares

Garuda to go public in 1998 by selling 30% of its shares

JAKARTA (JP): The state-owned airline Garuda Indonesia is to
sell 30 percent of its total shares to the public in early 1998,
marketing director Sudarso Kaderi said.

"We planned to go public early next year. But if we're not
ready we will have to postpone the plan," Sudarso told the press
at the Indonesia Tourism Mart and Expo 1996 here Thursday.

He said that based on the experiences of other state-owned
companies -- PT Telkom, PT Indosat and PT Tambang Timah -- two
years are not enough to prepare a share listing on the capital
market. Their preparations alltook more than two years.

"We, therefore, will be serious in preparing ourselves, so
that we'll be ready in two years," said Sudarso, as quoted by the
Kompas daily.

He noted that his company will shed all unrelated and non-
profitable activities, such as hotels and travel bureaus, and
will focus only on the core business -- air transportation
services.

According to Sudarso, Garuda will also halt non-profitable
flight routes, which have a load factor of less than 50 percent,
and unnecessary stop-overs.

Garuda, the country's national flag carrier, recently closed
its international routes from Jakarta to Madrid, Berlin, Vienna
and Zurich.

Garuda incurred a loss of Rp 2.7 billion (US$1.17 million)
during the first half of this year, but it expects to post a net
profit of Rp 124.7 billion during the second six months, which is
traditionally the peak season for air transportation. (13)