Indah Kabel to make fiber optic cables

Indah Kabel to make fiber optic cables

JAKARTA (JP): A publicly-listed cable manufacturer, PT IKI
Indah Kabel Indonesia, will begin producing fiber optic telephone
cables in April, a company executive said.

The company's president, K. Murata, announced after an
extraordinary shareholders' meeting yesterday that the company
will also produce type XLPE medium voltage electric tensile
cables now used by state-owned electric company PLN. The company
will also produce foam skin telephone cables.

"It was a part of our US$35 million investment plan set up two
years ago after Sumitomo Industries of Japan and PT Perdana Mulia
Ekasakti of Salim Group joined the company as new shareholders,"
said Murata.

The president declined to disclose how much money was needed
to produce the fiber optic cables. The company will have the
capacity to produce 300 kilometers of cable a month.

"All the details will be disclosed later in our annual general
shareholders meeting," he said.

Murata said the cable market's prospects are positive this
year because the Indonesian government has stepped up development
in the electricity and telecommunication sectors.

"The most important thing now is how to improve the quality of
our products to keep up with the demand from local companies,"
Murata said.

"Moreover, our production also responds to the program of
newly-listed PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia to use fiber optic
cables in certain areas this year," he said.

Meanwhile, a director of IKI Indah Kabel, Sulim Herman
Limbono, said that the company's net sales last year increased 37
percent to approximately Rp 200 billion ($86.7 million).

Limbono declined to disclose the company's sales estimates,
but said a continued rise in aluminum and copper prices will
affect the company's sales.

Yesterday's meeting appointed Junsi Heru Oentaro and Kajiro
Bekki as new directors, replacing Budi Setyawan and Mineya Kuno
who resigned recently. Therecia Rahardjo was appointed a new
commissioner.

IKI Indah Kabel is now 41 percent owned by Sumitomo Electric
Industries, 16.5 percent by its founder, Fantini Loekito, 10
percent by Perdana Mulia Ekasakti of Salim Group, 5 percent by
Kohar Sumandi and 27.4 percent by the investing public. (08)