Government sells 9.62 percent stake in PT Telkom

JAKARTA (JP): The government announced on Thursday the sale of 898 million shares in domestic telecommunications provider PT Telkomunikasi Indonesia (PT Telkom) to foreign institutional investors.

The office of the state minister for the empowerment of state enterprises said the shares, which represented 9.62 percent of the government stake in the telecommunications provider, were sold at Rp 3,650 per share.

"The price reflects a 4.3 percent premium of the average monthly price," it said in a statement.

The government, which previously had a 75.6 percent stake in PT Telkom, raised a total of Rp 3.2 trillion (over US$400 million).

The statement did not mention the names of the buyers but said they included investors from the United States and Asia.

The transaction -- the second privatization deal concluded since the beginning of the 1999/2000 fiscal year in April -- was assisted by state-owned securities companies PT Danareksa Sekuritas and PT Bahana Securities, Merill Lynch Far East Ltd and Lehman Brothers.

The government recently sold a 49 percent stake in a container terminal operator in Surabaya to P&O Australia Ltd for $173 million as part of its privatization program.

During this fiscal year, the government expects to raise about $1.5 billion from the divestment of its stake in 10 state companies. (hen)