Govt to privatize 10 state-owned firms
JAKARTA (JP): The government will sell stakes in 10 state- owned companies in the 1999/2000 fiscal year to raise Rp 13 trillion (US$1.5 billion) to help finance the state budget, State Minister of the Empowerment of State Enterprises Tanri Abeng said on Monday.
But realization of the plan will hinge largely on the country's social and political situation, he added.
"I'm confident that the privatization target can be obtained as long as the social, political condition doesn't get worse," he told the House of Representatives' Commission VIII on state budget and finance at a hearing on the plan.
He identified the firms as publicly listed tin miner PT Tambang Timah, telecommunications firm PT Telkom, nonlisted toll road operator PT Jasa Marga, coal mining operation PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam, steelmaker PT Krakatau Steel, fertilizer manufacturers PT Pupuk Sriwijaya and PT Pupuk Kaltim, airport management firm PT Angkasa Pura I, plantation company PT Perkebunan Nusantara III and port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia I.
Tanri said the government would also sell a 23 percent share in publicly listed cement maker PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa in the fiscal year.
He did not provide further details. The government has a 25 percent stake in the private cement company.
The first five companies were originally slated for privatization in the current fiscal year ending in March. The plan was postponed due to bearish market sentiment from the economic crisis plaguing the region since mid-1997.
Tanri believed overseas road shows for the privatization candidates could start in April.
"I myself will be leading the road shows," he said.
Tanri was optimistic the $1 billion target for privatization proceeds in the current fiscal year could be obtained.
He said final bids for two container terminals owned by PT Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT), a subsidiary of state-owned port operator PT Pelindo II, were received from four giant foreign shipping and port operators.
Final bids were submitted by noon on Monday.
Tanri declined to name the bidders but disclosed they came from Hong Kong, Australia, the U.S., and the Philippines.
Announcement of the winner is scheduled on Wednesday evening.
The government announced in November that six foreign investors were vying for a 49 percent-51 percent stake in JICT.
The latter controls two container terminals with a total capacity of 1.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the country's busiest port, Jakarta's Tanjung Priok.
The winner is expected to boost port capacity to 2.7 million TEUs to compete with the popular Singapore port.
Tanri said the selling process for another port operator, PT Pelindo III, airport management firm PT Angkasa Pura II, plantation firm PT Perkebunan IV and publicly listed international telecommunications company PT Indosat was still underway.
He said regulations on the tariff mechanism in the infrastructure operations were settled.
Australia's Telstra is among candidates interested in Indosat, he added.
"The bidders will submit their bids next week," he said.
The government is expected to sell a 14 percent to 15 percent stake in Indosat.
The government has so far only sold a 14 percent share in cementmaker PT Semen Gresik in the current fiscal year to Mexico's Cemex SA for $1.38 percent per share, raising $114 million.
Tanri said Cemex recently gave a bonus of $7.5 million following approval of Gresik's business plans by its board of commissioners, raising total proceeds from the sale to $121.5 million.
"This was part of our deal with Cemex," he said. (rei)