IFC wants to underwrite PT Indosat share issues
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian government isn't ready to line up the contestants for the underwriting of PT Indosat's international share issue, but at least one foreign interest is lobbying hard to wrap up first place .
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), an affiliate of the World Bank, has embarked on a sales promotion campaign to get the underwriting deal.
Sudhir Rajkumar of the IFC told a conference here yesterday that the World Bank's private-sector arm is the best suited to help take Indonesian state companies international.
"IFC has built a comprehensive in-house knowledge of the Indonesian economy and significant experience with financing Indonesian enterprises," Rajkumar told the conference, which discussed the trends, options and challenges for Indonesian companies wanting to be listed internationally.
He added that the IFCs sensitivity to Indonesia's development policy objectives enables it to accurately value a company in the Indonesian context and to reconcile government objectives with the commercial interests of prospective investors.
"Bringing a strategic partner on board can be viewed as the first step in the process of preparing a company to meet the rigorous listing requirements of international stock markets," Rajkumar said.
He said IFC's multilateral character and reputation has often led to its playing an 'honest broker' role in politically sensitive or high-profile transactions around the world.
"IFC therefore can balance the interests of local and foreign investors and at the same time provide transparency and credibility to the entire privatization process," he stated.
Moreover, he added, IFC has been a co-lead in over US$4 billion in international securities offerings over the past five years.
IFC, which has an office in Jakarta, has a staff of over 1,200 worldwide, from 94 countries and operating in over 30 cities. Employees include economists, financial analysts, legal advisers, country, industry and environmental specialists.(vin)